Love songs can capture the spirit of a nation and an age like nothing else. To celebrate Mando-pop’s golden era, the Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra will stage a two-part performance titled Love Song Era Mando and Hoklo Classic Oldies Concert (情歌時代國台語經典老歌演唱會) in Kaohsiung this weekend.
Four celebrated singers — Mando-pop songstress Christine Hsu (許景淳), theater veteran Berson Wang (王柏森), soprano Elaine Chang (張杏月) and the symphony’s executive director Chu Hung-chang (朱宏昌) — will perform with a full orchestra.
“These love songs are part of our collective memory,” Chu told the Taipei Times earlier this week. “They represent our romantic fantasies and desires.”
Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra
The program is divided into four segments: Liu Chia-chang Love Song Classics (劉家昌情歌金曲) and Love Song Era (情歌時代) are tomorrow night, and Chiung Yao Movie Theme Songs (瓊瑤電影主題曲) and Love Song Four Seasons (情歌四季) are on Sunday.
“These old-school love songs are propelled by impeccable melodies, unlike modern pop love songs, which rely more on rhythms and musical arrangement,” Chu said.
The first part of the program on both nights is devoted to movie theme songs from Taiwanese cinema in the 1960s and 1970s.
Tomorrow’s concert celebrates the work of Liu Chia-chang (劉家昌), the Mando-pop master songwriter who penned numerous hits and movie theme tunes, and Sunday’s sees the symphony paying tribute to romance writer Chiung Yao (瓊瑤), whose novels inspired scores of movie adaptations during the 1960s and 1970s.
“I was in high school when these romance movies came out,” Chu said. “These songs are memorable because each one is not just a song, you also get a story and a movie behind the song.”
The second part of tomorrow’s program covers Shanghai-era oldies from the 1920s to the 1940s, and a selection of Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) classics. Songs by Taiwanese pop goddess Teresa Teng (鄧麗君), including Wishing We Last Forever (但願人長久) and The Moon Represents My Heart (月亮代表我的心), will be covered in Sunday’s concert.
PERFORMANCE NOTES
WHAT: Love Song Era Mando and
Hoklo Classic Oldies Concert
(情歌時代國台語經典老歌演唱會)
WHEN: Tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm
WHERE: Kaohsiung Cultural Center’s Chih-teh Hall
(高雄市文化中心至德堂), 67 Wufu 1st Rd,
Kaohsiung City (高雄市五福一路67號)
ADMISSION: Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,500, available through 7-Eleven ibon kiosks,
ERA ticketing outlets or online at
www.ticket.com.tw
On the Net: www.kcso.org.tw
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