The National Symphony Orchestra received a standing ovation for its first concert in Zurich, Switzerland, on its current European tour, affirming the group’s aim to “make friends in the world with music from Taiwan,” its executive director said.
National Symphony Orchestra executive director Kuo Wen-chen (郭玟岑) on Thursday said that the concert at the Tonhalle Zurich was 95 percent full and many in the audience gave a standing ovation at the end.
The orchestra, which performs abroad under the name Taiwan Philharmonic, opened its first concert in its seven-stop European tour with Taiwanese composer Li Yuan-chen’s (李元貞) Tao of Meinong, and was then joined by pianist Khatia Buniatishvili for Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor Op. 23 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Photo courtesy of the orchestra via CNA
Li’s piece, a symphony that incorporates Hakka folk music, was featured on the orchestra’s US and Japanese tours last year.
The orchestra then played Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 in G-major Op. 88 for the second half of the concert, before performing two encore pieces — Dvoak’s Slavonic Dance, Op. 46, No. 8 and Taiwanese composer Tyzen Hsiao’s (蕭泰然) The Angel from Formosa, a statement released by the orchestra said on Thursday.
Switzerland-based cellist Yang Wen-sinn (楊文信) said he was moved by Li’s piece because it reminded him of Asia, as his family was from Taiwan before moving to Europe, the orchestra said in the statement.
He also praised conductor Jun Markl, music director of the orchestra, for his elegant delivery and Buniatishvili’s excellent guest performance, the statement said.
The orchestra played its second concert of the tour in the Victoria Hall in Geneva on Thursday. It played at the Stadtcasino Basel yesterday and is to head to Germany for another three concerts, at the Staatstheater Braunschweig today, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg on Tuesday, and Kuppelsaal in Hannover on Friday.
The tour is to conclude with a concert at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris on Saturday, the orchestra said.
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