Shao-Chia Lü, conductor Stephen Hough, piano · Stephen Hough, piano Although rare, all dates, times, artists, programs and prices are subject to change. Photographing or recording

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018, 8PMSegerstrom Center for the Arts | Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall

Pre-concert lecture by Brian Lauritzen, 7pm

TAIWAN PHILHARMONIC

Shao-Chia Lü, conductorStephen Hough, piano

Although rare, all dates, times, artists, programs and prices are subject to change. Photographing or recording this performance without permission is prohibited.

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CHIN: ‘DANCING SONG’ FROMTHREE ABORIGINAL SONGS FORORCHESTRA

(NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)

I have chosen traditional folk songs fromthree aboriginal tribes for the subjects theydepict and how they inspire me musicallywhen I hum those melodies quietly tomyself. Thanks to the generally less complicated pitch content and rhythmicpatterns of these aboriginal songs, I wasgiven lots of freedom to develop my ownideas. All three songs I based my work onare characteristic in their own way, whichgave me a good sense of direction. I canelaborate with variations of the originalmaterials while maintaining a unifyingmusical style.

Tonight, the orchestra is performing thethird and final movement, Uyas Mgeli(Dancing Song) of the Sediq tribe.

SHAO-CHIA LÜ

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‘Dancing Song’ from Gordon CHINThree Aboriginal Songs for Orchestra (b. 1957)(North American Premiere)

Piano Concerto No. 1 Franz LISZTS. 124, E-flat major (1811-1886)

I. Allegro maestosoII. Quasi adagioIII. Allegretto vivace – Allegro animatoIV. Allegro marziale animato

- I N T E R M I S S I O N -

La mer Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)

I. ‘De l'aube à midi sur la mer’II. ‘Jeux de vagues’III. ‘Dialogue du vent et de la mer’

Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2 Maurice RAVEL(1875-1937)

I. ‘Lever du jour’II. ‘Pantomime’III. ‘Danse générale’

Stephen Hough appears by arrangement with CM Artists.Mr. Hough’s recordings are available on the Hyperion, BIS, Chandos, Warner Classics labels.

North American representation for the Taiwan Philharmonic:MKI Artists

One Lawson Lane, Suite 320, Burlington, VT 05401www.mkiartists.com

Mariinsky_Taiwan_PB_FINALtoPrint103.qxp_PSOC Template 10-12 10/3/18 11:15 AM Page 11

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MThe previous two movements deal mostly withdiatonic materials. As a result, by the time Istarted working on the third movement, I haddeveloped a longing for a chromatic theme.

While the musical material used in the beginning of this movement is my own creation,I manage to give it a dance-like quality, as UyasMgeli suggests, a song for dance. The true Uyas Mgeli appears later at the second segmentof this movement. The old and the new themestake places one after the other, and the UyasMgeli eventually prevails as the movement develops, depicting a vivid picture of peopledancing in the winds, leaping onto the treetop,through the bluest sky, stomping their feet withthe heartiest rhythm, joyfully anticipating thecoming of a new life.

—Copyright Gordon Chin

LISZT: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1, S. 124, E-FLAT MAJOR

Liszt was a bundle of 19th century aesthetic contradictions co-existing in one complex andfascinating human—at once pyrotechnic showman and rigorous formal craftsman, swaggering extrovert and spinner of lyricallyintimate melodies, genre-busting maverick anddeeply respectful reckoner with traditions past.All polarities are on display in Liszt’s First PianoConcerto, which he began composing in the 1840s (although it did not reach its final,published form until 1856, undergoing severalrevisions as the heretofore piano-focused Lisztlearned to orchestrate; some drafts are titledConcerto Symphonique, signifying the composer’sintention for soloist and orchestra to function asequal partners). Liszt premiered the concerto in1855, with Hector Berlioz conducting.

The key setting of E-flat major and the choice toopen with an extensive cadenza for the soloistboth nod to Beethoven’s Emperor concerto, aniconoclastic predecessor that Liszt knew and loved. However, Liszt’s approach to the concerto genre diverges from Beethoven’s in that it is cyclic—there are no breaks betweenmovements, and thematic material across sections is interrelated (i.e., a new melody may be derived from a previous theme) orrecontextualized (i.e., a motive that appeared in

one guise will be recast later in a strikingly different character). A sense of unity emerges,the parts corresponding to the whole.

The First Piano Concerto comprises four linkedmovements: a resolute Allegro with blazingoctaves and excursions into free fantasy for thepiano, an Adagio influenced by the bel cantostyle, a Puckish scherzo in which the triangle isprevalent, and a Presto finale incorporatingthemes from all prior sections, ending with athrilling bravura riff on the motive that kickedoff the first movement.

This opening motive is rumored to mimic thedeclamation of the phrase, “Das versteht Ihr allenicht, ha-ha!” (“You all do not comprehendthis!”)—supposedly, Liszt was thumbing hisnose at the conservative critics whom he knewwould be aghast. (We might hear the “ha-HA!”as a Mephistophelian cackle, given Liszt’s lifelong attraction to the Faust myth). On premiering, the concerto met its share of detractors—Eduard Hanslick, in an especiallysavage burn, declared it “a concerto for triangle”—but Liszt’s amalgamation of melodicgift, formal innovation, and sheer technical brilliance secured the piece a place in the repertoire. Ambitious conservatory students andseasoned professionals still attempt to scale itsheights every year, drawn to a derring-do andradical virtuosity that remains slightly beyondcomprehension.


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DEBUSSY: LA MER

Perhaps the only definitive observation that onecould make about the sea is that it changes.Anyone who has spent a few hours observing the tides, or on a boat experiencing the vagaries ofthe waves, has been privy to the perpetual self-reinvention of this roiling, majestic, andsometimes violent ecosystem. The medium ofmusic, unfolding in time, is especially well-equipped among the arts to enact the variations and transformations of natural forces.Much of the vocabulary that we use to describe the ocean maps metaphorically ontomusical processes: dynamics “swell” and “recede,”percussion “pounds” and “crashes,” flutes “float,”violins “shimmer,” harps “undulate.” Debussy’s La Mer, the ultimate sonic seascape, does morethan represent the ocean—it embodies it.

Young Debussy was at one point destined for amaritime life: his father, who had served in the Navy, expected his eldest son to follow suit,or at least to find a respectable position as a mercantile sailor. Instead, Claude was steered intoa musical career by a family friend, but the oceanand the element of water remained powerfulsources of inspiration for the composer (an incomplete smattering of Debussy’s water-works includes Reflets dans l’Eau, En Bateau,Ondine, and Poissons d’Or).

La Mer was based less on a particular encounterwith the sea than on Debussy’s composite, constructed memories of it (in fact, Debussy conceived of these “Three Symphonic Sketches”while landlocked at his in-laws’ home inBurgundy in 1903). Hokusai’s famous woodblock print “The Great Wave offKanagawa” and the paintings of J.M.W. Turneralso informed Debussy’s inner vision.

La Mer was unusual for its time in that it did not depict any human protagonists. Symphonicpoems—orchestral works modeled after literarypremises or extramusical scenes and events—hadbeen in vogue since the mid-nineteenth century, but usually invoked mythology or psychological narrative; even the most abstractand metaphysical tone-poems, like Strauss’“Death and Transfiguration” or Liszt’s “Cradleto Grave,” centered on subjective human experience. La Mer, by contrast, simply captureda force of nature in all its beauty, terror, and complexity. Debussy’s three movements, respectively titled “Dawn till midday on the sea,”“Play of wind and waves,” and “Dialogue of the wind and sea,” all resist the formalism of symphonic discourse, instead favoring capriciousshifts of key and tempo, and continuous freedevelopment of motives. Delicate, mysteriouspassagework foams and churns its way into thundering grandeur, then relents, thenregroups—ever-changing, ever-evolving, just like the sea.

RAVEL: DAPHNIS ET CHLOÉ, SUITENO. 2

Ravel’s big break came in 1909, when impresarioSergei Diaghilev of the Ballet Russes tapped theup-and-coming composer to write a score for anew production. Daphnis et Chloé premiered in 1912, after a protracted “development hell” in which Ravel was chronically behind schedule.This was due in part to his communication blockwith choreographer Michel Fokine (“Fokinedoesn’t speak a word of French, and I only know how to swear in Russian,” Ravelwrote to a friend.”) The eventual productionreceived lukewarm reviews: the choreography,music, and set seemed mismatched, and the performers (including Vaslav Nijinsky as


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MDaphnis) were under-rehearsed. But Ravel’sluscious, lyrical, and fiendishly acrobatic scorestood out, and has since become a beloved standard of the orchestral repertoire.

The ballet’s plot is drawn from a Greek romanceattributed to the writer Longus (3rd centuryAD), though Ravel and Fokine encountered themyth through the sixteenth-century Frenchpoet Jacques Amyot. The story is a classic will-they-or-won’t-they compounded by somenymphs, satyrs, and pillaging pirates: Daphnisand Chloé, orphans and best friends since childhood, are in love but are loathe to admit it.Forces conspire against them one spring morning—a flock of nymphs momentarilytempt Daphnis, a braggart rival shepherd namedDorcon sets his sights on Chloé, Daphnis andDorcon engage in a dance-off to win a kiss fromChloé. Daphnis triumphs, but the victory isshort-lived, as a band of pirates comes to the island and kidnaps Chloé. The nymphssummon Pan, who journeys to the pirates’ grotto with his army of satyrs, spooking theabductors until they relinquish their captive.Chloé returns to Daphnis, and in gratitude thecouple reenacts the story of Pan and his love, thenymph Syrinx. The entire ensemble rejoices in abacchanal.

Ravel called his composition a “SymphonieChoréographique,” and in his scoring we feelboth the tight motivic control of symphonic writing and the pure kinetic force of dance. Thesecond orchestral suite features three tableauxfrom the second half of the ballet. “Lever dujour,” at first tranquil and then rapturous, seesDaphnis and Chloé reunited at daybreak;“Pantomime” is the lovers’ homage to the Panand Syrinx story, with Pan’s flute erupting virtuosically from the orchestra; “Dansegénérale” is the ballet’s closing bacchanal, a

swirling, frenzied tour-de-force in 5/4 time.Diaghilev’s dancers complained about the asymmetrical meter and struggled to navigate it,but today’s audience members may have troublestaying in their seats for this propulsively danceable showstopper.

—Copyright Alana Murphy

SHAO-CHIA LÜ, CONDUCTOR

Taiwan-born conductor Shao-Chia Lü studiedmusic in Taipei, later at Indiana University inBloomington, in the United States, and also atVienna’s College of Music. His training resultedin important first prizes at three renowned international conductor competitions: Besançon(France), Pedrotti (Italy) and Kondrashin (theNetherlands).

Shao-Chia Lü accepted positions as GeneralMusic Director of the Koblenz Theatre (1998-2001), the Staatsorchester RheinischePhilharmonie Koblenz (1998-2004), and theStaatsoper Hannover (2001- 2006).

Shao-Chia Lü appears regularly as guest conductor at several world-renowned opera houses, including the Opera Australia in Sydneyand Melbourne, the English National Opera,Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Den NorskeOpera in Oslo, Gothenburg Opera, OperFrankfurt, Staatsoper Hamburg and Stuttgart,Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper Berlin.Alongside his opera activities, Lü is equally athome on concert podiums. Lü has worked frequently with many leading European orchestras, such as the Oslo Philharmonic,Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di SantaCecilia, Norwegian and Swedish RadioOrchestras, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra,

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Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, OrchestreNational de France, Rundfunk-SinfonieorchesterBerlin, SWR Stuttgart, the GöteborgsSymfoniker, Staatskapelle Weimar, FrankfurterMuseumsorchester and Royal ConcertgebouwOrchestra in Amsterdam. In Asia, Lü has workedwith the Hong Kong Philharmonic, NHK, NewJapan Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, KBSSymphony Orchestra and leading orchestras inChina.

Shao-Chia Lü has been Music Director of theTaiwan Philharmonic (the National SymphonyOrchestra) since August 2010.

TAIWAN PHILHARMONIC

Founded in 1986, the Taiwan Philharmonic,also known as the National SymphonyOrchestra at home, is hailed as one of the bestorchestras in the Asian Region and became the resident orchestra of the National ChiangKai-Shek Cultural Center in 2005. StartingApril 2014, the NSO has become an affiliateorchestra to the National Performing ArtsCenter. Led by renowned conductor Shao-ChiaLü as its 5th music director starting August2010, the NSO has increased the country’s cultural richness and music educational strengththroughout Taiwan.

The NSO with 99 members presents a 40-week musical season of approximately 75 concerts/chamber recitals and one opera

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production each year. It also launches educational programs and outreach projectsconstantly. Tour performances are regularlyoffered throughout Taiwan and overseas. It hastoured to Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Geneva, Milan,Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sapporo, Tokyo,Yokohama, Seoul, Hong Kong and major citiesin China.

The NSO works with internationally acclaimedconductors, such as Lorin Maazel, Sir NevilleMarriner, Krzysztof Penderecki, RudolfBarshai, Leonard Slatkin, ChristopherHogwood, Oleg Caetani, GennadyRozhdestvensky, Michael Sanderling, VassilySinaisky, Osmo Vänskä, Hans Graf andsoloists, including Midori, Vadim Repin, HilaryHahn, Ray Chen, Yo-Yo Ma, Gautier Capuçon,Alban Gerhardt, Mischa Maisky, Sol Gabetta,Martin Grubinger, Louis Lortie, Kun-WooPaik, Stephen Hough, Stephen Kovacevich,Sabine Meyer, Reinhold Friedrich, LeonidasKavakos, Yuja Wang and many others.

The NSO has extended its artistic reach,becoming involved in theater and opera productions, such as working with Lin Hwai-min, the world-renowned choreographer and founder of Cloud GateDance Theatre of Taiwan, Austrian digitalartist Klaus Obermaier, and opera stage directors Tobias Richter, Moffatt Oxenbould, Hans-Peter Lehmann, Andreas Homoki, and James Robinson. In addition to its record-breaking semi-stage concert operas Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Elektra, the NSO has collaborated with world-class operahouses for its multinational productions, such asDer Rosenkavalier (Deutsche Oper am Rhein,2007), Carmen (Royal Opera House CoventGarden, Norwegian National Opera, andOpera Australia, 2009), Madama Butterfly

(Opera Australia, 2012), Fidelio (OpernhausZurich, 2015) as well as in-house production Die Walküre (2013), Salome (2014), Otello(2016), Il Trittico (2017), and Parsifal (2018).

STEPHEN HOUGH, PIANO

One of the most distinctive artists of his generation, Stephen Hough combines a distinguished career as a pianist with those ofcomposer and writer. Named by The Economist asone of Twenty Living Polymaths, Hough was thefirst classical performer to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and was made aCommander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) in the 2014 New Year’s Honors.

Since taking first prize at the 1983 NaumburgCompetition in New York, Hough has performedwith the world’s major orchestras and givenrecitals at the most prestigious concert halls. He isa regular guest at festivals such as Salzburg,Aspen, Blossom, Tanglewood, Edinburgh, LaRoque-d'Anthéron and BBC Proms, where he hasmade more than twenty-five appearances.

Highlights of Mr. Hough’s 2018-19 seasoninclude performances at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, with The Cleveland and Minnesota orchestras, the ViennaSymphony, London Philharmonic, City ofBirmingham Symphony Orchestra, FinnishRadio Symphony Orchestra, OrchestrePhilharmonique de Monte-Carlo, OrchestraSinfonica Nazionale della Rai, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and a West Coast tour with the Taiwan Philharmonic with performances in Seattle, San Diego and OrangeCounty. Recent highlights include appearanceswith the New York Philharmonic, and the


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San Francisco, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Detroit,St. Louis, Dallas and Sydney symphonies. In 2018 he was Artist-in-Residence at the RoyalLiverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, performinga cycle of all five Beethoven concertos. Recentrecitals include performances at New York’sCarnegie Hall and London’s Royal Festival Hall(International Piano Series), and in SanFrancisco, Los Angeles, Toronto and Parisamong others.

Hough’s extensive discography of more than 60 CDs has garnered international awardsincluding the Diapason d’Or de l’Année, severalGrammy nominations, and eight GramophoneAwards including Record of the Year and theGold Disc. Recent releases include solo pianoworks by Debussy, Hough’s ‘Dream Album,’and a live recording of Schumann and Dvořák’spiano concertos with Andris Nelsons and theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, allfor Hyperion Records. His award-winning iPadapp The Liszt Sonata was released by TouchPress in 2013.

As a composer, Hough has been commissioned by Wigmore Hall, Musée du Louvre, London’sNational Gallery, Westminster Abbey,Westminster Cathedral, the Genesis Foundation,Gilmore International Keyboard Festival,Indianapolis Symphony, the Walter W.Naumburg Foundation, Orquesta Sinfónica deEuskadi and the Berlin Philharmonic WindQuintet. His music is published by JosefWeinberger Ltd.

Stephen Hough’s first novel, The Final Retreat,was published by Sylph Editions in March 2018,and he has written for The New York Times, TheTelegraph, The Times, The Guardian and theEvening Standard. He is an Honorary Member ofthe Royal Philharmonic Society, a VisitingProfessor at the Royal Academy of Music, holdsthe International Chair of Piano Studies at theRoyal Northern College of Music, and is on thefaculty of The Juilliard School in New York.

STEPHEN HOUGH (SIM CANNERTY CLARKE)


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TAIWAN PHILHARMONIC

MUSIC DIRECTOR | SHAO-CHIA LÜ

CONDUCTOR LAUREATEGünther Herbig

RESIDENT CONDUCTORYin-Fang Chang

FIRST VIOLIN★Ting-Yu Wu★I-Ching Li☆Hao-Tun Teng○Yi-Chun Chen

Yu-Lin KuoJi-Hung LinKun-Hao LiangYee-Nong ChenHsiao-Ching ChoCecilia FangJiachi HuangTing-Fang LeeChia-Chi LaiMeng-Ying LinChia-Hao LeeChih-Hong TsengChu-Chun Tsai

SECOND VIOLIN●Yi-Ju Chen◎Cheng-Mei Sun○Wen-Tso Chen

I-Hui WuChing-Hsi LeeYen-Yi HuangTsu-Mei KuHsin-Jung KangMei-Jain LiJen-Fu ChungMeng-Fong TsaiChang-Wen HungWei-Hong ChenChih-Hsiang Wang

VIOLA●Grace Huang◎Chi-Chuan Teng○Chao-Ying Lu

Yea-Chyi HwangJing-Yi LeeJuin-Ling ShiehMeng-San LuSzu-Chi LiJubel ChenPing-Chang TsaiYen-Ting WuYa-Han Huang

CELLO●Lana Hsiung◎Yi-Shien Lien○Chih-Yin Wei

You-Wen ChouI-Ting ChenYi-Hsien LinJih-Sheng HuangPinwei SuYing-Chi TangYu-Wen Wang

DOUBLE BASS●Yung-Ho Fu◎Yi-Jung Su○Chun-Shiang Chou

Su-Yu WangHsiao-Ching HuangShu-Yi WangPei-Chih LienHsin-Chieh Tsai

FLUTE●Anders Norell◎Chika Miyazaki

Chuin LeeYa-Hsin Hsiao

PICCOLOMei-Chuan Chung

OBOE●I-Ching Wang◎Tung Nguyen Hoang

Shu-Ting Yang

ENGLISH HORNMing-I Lee

CLARINET●May-Lin Ju◎Kai-Ting Chang ■

Wei-I ChuCheng-Jung Sun

BASSOON●Kai-Yu Jian◎I-Hsiu Chen

Ling-Feng Kao

CONTRABASSOONEn-Yi Chien

HORN●Yi-Hsin Cindy Liu◎Pin-Chun Liu○Jen-Hsien Huang

Wan-Ju WangYu-Mien TsaoYi-Ting Chung

TRUMPET●Nicolas Rusillon◎Chang-Po Chen

Ching-Min ChangLoo-Kit ChongShan Lee

TROMBONE●Kun-Ying Lee◎Hang-Fat Shiu

Chung-Sheng Chen

BASS TROMBONEHsiao-Yun Peng

TUBA●Fujita Keisuke

TIMPANI●Sebastian Efler◎Ting-Chuan Chen

PERCUSSION●Jer-Huei Chen

Chen-Hsing ChenPi-Tzu YangChun-Yeh WangChia-Che Hsu

HARP●Shuen Chieh

Chia-Yuan Liang

KEYBOARD▲Yu-Ting Hsu

Special thanks to Ti Huang as the associateclarinet principal of this concert.

★Concertmaster

☆Associate Concertmaster

●Principal

◎Associate Principal

○Assistant Principal

■On Leave

▲Season Contracted Musicians

Auxiliary


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GEM

ENTS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORLydia Wenchen Kuo

Manager, Planning & ProductionYing-Fan Lai

Manager, Marketing & DevelopmentPaul Wang

Manager, Administration &Secretary of Music DirectorYun-Yuh Wang

PLANNING & PRODUCTION

Coordinator/MD AssistantKoay Yee Fei

Programme CoordinatorLinglin ShihYu-Fen HuangYu-Ching Yang

LibrarianBrittney Kao

Stage ManagerKuan-Hsun Kao

Production CoordinatorChing-Han Su

Assistant Stage ManagerYen-Lin Li

MARKETING & DEVELOPMENT

Project Manager, Marketing &Development

Gloria Lo

Project Manager, International AffairsNancy Lu

Marketing CoordinatorMichelle LiuZoe KaoPei-Xuan LianVivian Chen

ADMINISTRATION

Assistant Manager, PersonnelBibi Lin

Legal AffairsCary Liu

AdministratorEileen LinChing I Chen

Administration AssistantYuny Chang

LEGAL CONSULTANTHsin-Ho Lin

CONCERT DRAMATURGISTYuan-Pu Chiao

RECORDING PARTNERSHIP

NSO-ON-CAMPUS LECTURE SERIES SPONSORED BY

TNUA & NSO Internship Program

FOR MKI ARTISTS

Managing DirectorJohn ZionDirector of OperationsBrooke Quiggins SaulnierProducer & Company ManagerJohn C. Gilliland III Stage ManagerTom Eirman

FOR 8VA MUSIC CONSULTANCY

Managing DirectorsPatricia PriceMatt Herman

溫隆信 David L. Wen

San Francisco Taipei Sister City Committee

THE TAIWAN PHILHARMONIC THANKS ITS SPONSORS AND FRIENDSWITHOUT WHOM THIS TOUR WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE

Dr. Ye-Ming Wu

Ling Lee, 李玲

Juliana TzengChen-Hsiang Liu 劉振祥

Sue Fan

Silicon Valley Ballet Academy


Shao-Chia Lü, conductor Stephen Hough, piano · Stephen Hough, piano Although rare, all dates, times, artists, programs and prices are subject to change. Photographing or recording

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