Taiwan Connection: Making Music On an Untrodden Path
Taiwan Connection (TC) follows the spirit of chamber music but does away with conducting, allowing each performing musician to play responsibly to create and interpret the music. Through its journey of music making, the TC uses music as a form of encouragement to inspire Taiwan society to move forward.
In 2003, when Hu Nai-yuan, Taiwanese violinist and first prize winner of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Competition (1985), was invited with a group of musicians to return to Taiwan to perform, ACF Chair Stanley Yen invited the maestro and musicians to perform in Huatung. Since leaving Taiwan at the age of eleven, Hu had the first opportunity to take a good look at Huatung and be in contact with indigenous cultures. In end-2004, the maestro invited Yen to start TC together. Classical musicians, based in Taiwan and abroad, gathered to perform annually in Taiwan, marking the start of these musicians’ connection with their hometown.
A young Taiwanese musician from abroad, who has taken part in several performances with the TC, wrote a letter to Hu Nai-yuan, the music director. The young musician expressed his amazement and admiration while playing with TC. The equal responsibility between the music director and each performer allowed for each person to express himself freely and passionately, even to the point of potential conflict.
A young Taiwanese musician from abroad, who has taken part in several performances with the TC, wrote a letter to Hu Nai-yuan, the music director. The young musician expressed his amazement and admiration while playing with TC. The equal responsibility between the music director and each performer allowed for each person to express himself freely and passionately, even to the point of potential conflict.
Beginning with performances of five to six musicians, TC collaborated with the Academy of Taiwan Strings and had its own 21-strong strings orchestra in 2007. In 2009, when the Typhoon Morakot hit, TC started to include wind music and expanded its team to be 35-strong. It played Haydn’s Surprise Symphony in Kaohsiung to express reflection upon mankind’s destruction to nature and used music to comfort residents in the post-disaster zone.
In 2010, TC performed the Heroic Symphony spontaneously, winning the admiration of National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) maestro Lu Shao-xing, who commented that it was the most touching performance he has heard in that year. He said TC had made music making come alive, and if one did not listen to the performance live, one might not believe that it was performed in Taiwan. From 2011 to 2013, TC performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Egmont Overture and Symphony No. 7, conveying bravery and courage in the face of fate.
In 2010, TC performed the Heroic Symphony spontaneously, winning the admiration of National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) maestro Lu Shao-xing, who commented that it was the most touching performance he has heard in that year. He said TC had made music making come alive, and if one did not listen to the performance live, one might not believe that it was performed in Taiwan. From 2011 to 2013, TC performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Egmont Overture and Symphony No. 7, conveying bravery and courage in the face of fate.
Hu believes that an orchestra should not be reliant on the conductor, but have each musician responsible for his part. The essence of music making is trust and interaction, with reading body language as communication, listening and observing intently for consensus. Many musicians experience the feeling of “coming alive” when playing in TC expressed by one of the TC members, bass cellist, Zhuo Han-han.
As music is a universally recognized language, it builds connections among people. As for classical music, Hu Nai-yuan wishes that it could have a connection with wider society, believe that music possesses human emotions, which anyone can experience. Hu feels that classical musicians have the responsibility to express and communicate through their music.
As music is a universally recognized language, it builds connections among people. As for classical music, Hu Nai-yuan wishes that it could have a connection with wider society, believe that music possesses human emotions, which anyone can experience. Hu feels that classical musicians have the responsibility to express and communicate through their music.
When Hu noted that some young students in Taiwan are learning music as merely a means to be graded, enrolled into a good school and employed in the future, he fears that the essence of music education is lost. To Hu, it is more important to pay attention to the current state and effect of music education, and inculcate in future generations the spirit of pursuing music as a lifelong craft, with a sense of purpose and mission. To give of oneself through music brings satisfaction to the musician and also touches the hearts of audiences.
In 2014, TC went on a hiatus, in hope of giving its best at every performance, progressing on this untrodden path and bringing its music worldwide. In 2016, the newly strengthened TC was invited to perform in five cities in China. Preparations are underway for 2017 Taiwan Connection Music Festival themed Mozart vs Dvorak. This August, TC will play in Taipei, Taichung and hold six performances in China. It will also conduct a few master classes and demonstration lectures to promote music education. The transformation power of music and the arts is valued through the dialogue which the artist or musician makes with life in his craft, leading audiences into one’s inner world to experience different emotions as a form of therapy. Such is Maestro Hu Nai-yuan’s hope for TC!
In 2014, TC went on a hiatus, in hope of giving its best at every performance, progressing on this untrodden path and bringing its music worldwide. In 2016, the newly strengthened TC was invited to perform in five cities in China. Preparations are underway for 2017 Taiwan Connection Music Festival themed Mozart vs Dvorak. This August, TC will play in Taipei, Taichung and hold six performances in China. It will also conduct a few master classes and demonstration lectures to promote music education. The transformation power of music and the arts is valued through the dialogue which the artist or musician makes with life in his craft, leading audiences into one’s inner world to experience different emotions as a form of therapy. Such is Maestro Hu Nai-yuan’s hope for TC!
