To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the passing of composer HSU Tsang-houei (1929–2001)—the pioneer of modern music in Taiwan and initiator of the Folk Music Collection Movement—this concert features his most representative large-scale masterpieces. The program includes: the choral work Song of the Burial of Flowers, which blends Buddhist chant with classical Chinese literature; the piano concerto Spring for All, which integrates the structural elements of Tang Dynasty Daqǔ with traditional Taiwanese Beiguan tunes and variation forms; the Chinese Festival Overture, reimagining the Qing Dynasty wind and percussion music The Splendid Universe through a modern orchestral lens; the dance drama music Peach Blossoms, based on Taiwanese Hakka folk songs; and the cantata Cortège Guerrier—an anti-war epic whose blueprint remained sealed for thirty years before its premiere in 1995. The concert begins with the prologue percussion music from the opera The Tale of the White Snake, a work the composer had been conceiving and creating for many years. It opens for the audience a musical feast that combines local Taiwanese culture with East Asian classical traditions, showcasing diverse themes and performance styles, and imbued with profound cultural resonance and historical depth. (Text by LIEN Hsien-sheng)

  Program  

HSU Tsang-houei:

Opera The Tale of the White Snake, op. 33: Prologue (Percussion Music) (1979-1987)     

Song of the Burial of Flowers, for Solo Soprano, Female Chorus, accompanied by two Buddhist musical instruments (Inverted Bell and Wooden Fish), op. 13 (1962)

Spring for All, Concerto for Piano and Chinese Orchestra, op. 36 (1981)

Chinese Festival Overture The Splendid Universe, op. 18 (1980)

Dance Drama Music Peach Blossoms, op. 31 (1977) 

Cantata Cortège Guerrier, for Soprano, Tenor, Mixed Chorus and Orchestra, op. 8 (1958-1965/1991)

  Exhibition  

2026/11/6(Fri)-12/6(Sun) 11:00-20:00

►2026 Taiwan Composer Series Rooted in Taiwan, Embracing the Asia-Pacific HSU Tsang-houei 25th Anniversary Memorial Exhibition

  Creative and Production Team  

Conductor｜CHIEN Wen-pin

Host｜FAN Man-nung

Piano｜Lina YEH 

Soprano｜LIN Meng-chun, LEE Yu-ju

Tenor｜LIN Yi-wei

Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra

Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra

Taipei Chamber Singers

Co-presenter｜National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), National Center for Traditional Arts,  Taiwan Music Institute

Co-organizers｜Tsang-Houei Hsu Cultural and Art Foundation

  Artists Introduction  

Conductor｜CHIEN Wen-pin

CHIEN Wen-pin, General and Artistic Director of the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), was born in 1967, graduated from the National Taiwan Academy of Arts and received a Master's degree at the National University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna. CHIEN joined the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf/Duisburg, Germany) in 1996 and served as "Kapellmeister" for 22 years. From 1998 to 2004, he was Resident Conductor of the Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan).

From 2001 to 2007, he was Music Director of National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan Philharmonic); during his tenure the orchestra has achieved several milestones such as creating Subscription series, commissioning Taiwanese composers, introducing an opera series which coroneted with the first production of the complete Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard WAGNER in Chinese speaking areas, upon orchestra's 20th anniversary in 2006. From 2014 to 2016, CHIEN was Artistic Advisor of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. In addition, CHIEN was the winner of the "National Award for Arts" in 2014.

Host｜FAN Man-nung

Born in 1946 into a musical family, FAN Man-Nong is a legendary Taiwanese flutist, educator, producer, and arts impresario widely revered as the "Godmother of the Taiwanese Flute." Influenced early on by her father, a prominent military band director, she built a solid musical foundation and made history in 1967 by premiering HSU Tsang-houei's solo piece The Blind, a landmark moment for contemporary Taiwanese music .After pursuing advanced studies at Boston University under Doriot Anthony Dwyer, the principal flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Fan returned to Taiwan. She spent decades teaching at NTUA and TNUA, shaping generations of exceptional classical musicians. Beyond education, FAN is a visionary cultural catalyst. From 1973 to 1985, she served as music director for Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. In 1978, she founded Environmental Music Production, elevating Taiwan's recording industry standards and later composing the iconic Golden Horse Awards Song in 1980.FAN's most profound impact lies in global arts curation. In 1979, she co-founded the New Aspect International Arts Festival, pioneering civilian-led cultural diplomacy in Taiwan. As Chairperson of the International New Aspect Cultural and Educational Foundation since 1990, she has overseen over 10,000 international performances, including the Environmental Fringe Festival. Fan is also a champion of traditional heritage. In 2004, she co-produced the globally acclaimed Peony Pavilion (Youth Edition) with PAI Hsien-yung, revitalizing Kunqu and earning the Special Contribution Award for Kunqu. To champion her own instrument, she founded the Joueurs de Flûte Ensemble in 1998 and the International Flute Festival in 2006. Honored with the Special Award at the 25th Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music in 2014, Fan remains a definitive force in Taiwan's contemporary performing arts.

Piano｜Lina YEH 

For more than fourty years Lina Yeh has been one of Taiwan's most beloved pianists. Her preeminence as this country's most unique artist came into sharp focus in 1990 when she received the National Cultural Award in recognition of her achievements in the performing arts. Lina YEH has performed all over the world as recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and in a piano duo team together with her husband Rolf-Peter WILLE. Her concert schedule has included tours in Australia and New Zealand, Eastern Europe, South America and the Caribbean as well as appearances in Finland, Estonia, Germany, Russia, Canada, the United States, and the Far East.  As soloists and piano duo she performed with various orchestras, including the Russian National Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Ural State Philharmonic, as well as all major orchstras in Taiwan. She collaborated with conductors such as Mikhail PLETNEV, Simon STREATFIELD, Andrei BOREYKO, Henry MAZER, Jajah LING, Alexander RUDIN, Carlo PONTI, LÜ Shao-chia, CHIEN Wen-pin, Felix CHEN and as chamber musician with violinists Ruggiero RICCI, Fredell LACK, cellists Michael FLAKSMAN, Alexander RUDIN, and flutist Robert AITKEN.  She has made guest appearances at festivals, among others "Braunschweig Classix" festival, Germany, the Banff festival, Canada, the Europe-Asian Piano Duo festival in Sverdlovsk, Russia, Klaaspärlimäng festival in Tallinn, Estonia, and the National Concert Hall series, Taipei.

The artist's refined musicianship in performing the classical repertoire as well as 20th -century Chinese music has won them great critical acclaim. In 1997 Paul GRIFFITH commented in the New York Times on the strong professional musicianship of her playing. Her latest albums having been released on the Philips and PolyGram labels, Lina YEH has recorded a substantial part of the two-piano and piano-duet repertoire with Rolf-Peter WILLE. Having a diverse cultural and educational background and having graduated from and studied at schools as different as Salzburg, Hanover, Banff, and Juilliard, she has distinguished national careers as professor (Taiwan Normal University), writer and broadcaster as well. Her principal teachers include Jacob LATEINER, Hans LEYGRAF, Kurt LEIMER, and Robert SCHOLZ. She has also worked on contemporary music with John CAGE and Robert AITKEN.

Soprano｜LIN Meng-chun

While her repertoire includes music from all historical periods, her specialty is in vocal chamber and contemporary music. Soprano LIN Meng-chun has received Masters of Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts in Vocal Performance, and Bachelor of the Fine Arts from National Taiwan Normal University in Vocal Performance. She has won the Taiwan Ministry of Education Scholarship (2004-07) and pursued Doctor of Musical Arts at the College-Conservatory of Music in University of Cincinnati. Ms. Lin is currently a contract instructor at National Taiwan Normal University, and adjunct faculty at Taipei National University of the Arts, Soochow University, and Shih-Chien University, where she teaches Voice Lesson, Opera Performance, Vocal Chamber Music, Vocal Pedagogy, and English Diction and Song Literature.

Soprano｜LEE Yu-ju

Graduated with a Ph.D. in Music from Fu Jen Catholic University, a Master's degree from National Taiwan Normal University, and a Bachelor's degree from Taipei National University of the Arts, following early music training in the gifted classes at National Taichung Second Senior High School, Shuang-Shi Junior High School, and Lih-Hsing Elementary School. Over the years, they have studied under the guidance of Prof. LIN Yu-ching, Prof. CHEN Yun-yi, Prof.  LIN Hui-chen, Lorraine Nawa JONES, TSAI Ping-ying, and CHANG Chuan-chuan.

In recent years, they have been deeply committed to premiering works by contemporary Taiwanese

composers, serving as the designated collaborative vocalist for many. In addition to frequently judging national music and vocal competitions at all levels, they currently serve as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Association of Vocal Artists of R.O.C. and Executive Director of the AVA Music Ensemble. They also hold teaching positions as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of General Education at Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology, and as an adjunct music teacher at Taipei Municipal Minglun High School and Taipei Municipal Dali High School.

Tenor｜LIN Yi-wei

Adjunct Assistant Professor at Fu Jen Catholic University, Department of Music, National Taichung University of Education and Department of Music, National Taiwan Normal University. LIN Yi-wei holds the highest vocal performance diploma from the Mozarteum University Salzburg in Austria. His performance experience includes roles such as Caruso and Deadly Nelson in Too Many Sopranos, Ferrando in Don Giovanni, 

Ramiro in Cinderella, Camille in Die lustige Witwe, Tannhäuser in Tannhäuser, Mr, HUANG in Portent, Jaquino in Fidelio, and Fenton in Falstaff.

  Team Introduction  

Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra

Wherever there is music, there is you.

- A young orchestra moving forward with determination

Founded in 1981, officially renamed the "Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra" (KSO) by 2000. The present chairperson of the Foundation is WANG Wen-tsui, Director of Kaohsiung City's Bureau of Cultural Affairs. CHU Hung-chang is the CEO of the Foundation, and the resident conductor is WU Yao-yu.

Taking pride as the music ambassador of Kaohsiung City, the KSO has collaborated with a variety of prestigious conductors and renowned artists. The KSO strives to incorporate classical and cross-border performances into its repertoire, permeated with its unique passion.

Recently, the orchestra has played a pivotal role in the Kaohsiung Spring Arts Festival and successfully established the reputation of the "Grassland Concert" and the full-scale opera productions, has also been frequently invited to participate in Weiwuying Presented Programs of Weiwuying National Art and Culture Center.

On the international stage, KSO has been successively invited to perform in the USA, Japan, Singapore, China and Hong Kong. KSO will keep taking the international-level orchestra as the goal of self-enhancement and growth, steadily stepping beyond countries and borders, and moving forward firmly.

Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra (KCO)

The Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra is the first professional Chinese orchestra in southern Taiwan. It was founded in 1989 in the name of Kaohsiung City Experimental Chinese Orchestra. In 2000, it formally became the in-residence orchestra of the Kaohsiung Music Hall and was officially renamed the Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra. In 2009, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra and Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra were merged into Kaohsiung Philharmonic Cultural & Arts Foundation. The current chairperson is WANG Wen-tsui, Director of Kaohsiung City's Bureau of Cultural Affairs. CHU Hung-chang is the CEO of the Foundation. 

Under the leadership of former orchestra directors and resident conductors, KCO has raised local awareness and appreciation for Chinese music through regular concerts and diverse events that are presented with staged dramas, dance troupes and other theatre elements. It has invited and collaborated with world-class local and international musicians and delivered the legacy of Chinese music to audiences of all generations. KCO is considered the most active and influential performing group in southern Taiwan. Moreover, it also brings Chinese music and Taiwanese culture to international stages in over ten countries.

KCO has published more than ten records with great popularity, including Instrumental Guide to the Chinese Orchestra, Ancient Tunes of Qiuci, The Four Seasons, Theme of the Great Walls, to name just a few. In recent years, KCO released the 25-year anniversary record Savoring the Best of Taiwan, 30-year anniversary record Festivals of Taiwan, and Finding the Deities and Mythical Creatures in Formosa, which is nominated for the Best Traditional Album, Best Album Producer, and Best Recording in the 34th Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music. 

Taipei Chamber Singers

With modern insights, Taipei Chamber Singers (TCS) pioneers vocal arts by articulating the stunning voice of the East.

Collaboration with conductors such as the incumbent Apo Ching-Hsin HSU, and former artistic director, CHEN Yun-hung, coalesced into 34 years of vocal excellence.

The group holds numerous European awards,  tours globally, and is acclaimed at major festivals, including IFCM, ISCM-ACL, SIFA and TIFA. The Music Unlimited initiative also fostered premieres of over 100 contemporary pieces.

TCS has released 13 albums through its record label. YIN—An Unlimited Passage won unprecedented 4 titles at the 32nd Golden Melody Award for Traditional Arts and Music. 

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