Taiwan Chinese Orchestra's 'Looking Back' Concert: Chou Sheng-wen Finds Inspiration from Master's Autobiography

(Central News Agency reporter Zhao Jingyu, Taipei, 10th) The Taiwan Chinese Orchestra will present the 'Looking Back' concert. Deputy conductor Chou Sheng-wen, who is in charge of conducting and repertoire selection, said that after reading the autobiography of Chinese music master Tung Jung-sen, he was deeply moved. 'Decades ago, he advocated that Chinese music should not limit itself. It is this openness that has made today's Chinese music so diverse and all-encompassing.'

Chou Sheng-wen told a Central News Agency reporter today that the inspiration for this 'Looking Back' concert came from the autobiography of Tung Jung-sen, the composer of the famous Chinese music piece 'Yangming Spring Dawn.' 'I was curious about how he viewed Chinese music in that era when he led the trend. Later, I found the answer in his book.'

Chou Sheng-wen stated that Teacher Tung Jung-sen once said, 'Chinese music should not first draw boundaries for itself.' Chou believes that in Teacher Tung's philosophy, Chinese music is a diverse and highly inclusive genre. 'Half a century later, there is a considerable gap between the aesthetics of his works and the Chinese music we are familiar with today. But it was because of this open attitude that modern Chinese music came to be. So, what kind of report card should our generation submit?'

Chou Sheng-wen introduced that the first half of the concert's repertoire includes the first movement, 'Heaven-Sent Giant,' of Tung Jung-sen's 'Ode to the Giant,' which premiered in 1965. This serves as a marker of time, contrasting with the contemporary Chinese music in the second half. Guan Nai-chung's 'Three Chapters of Kenting' looks at how to depict Taiwan through music from an external perspective. 'At that time, the proposition of sinicizing orchestral music was a hot topic. Teacher Guan, with his signature romantic style, left Taiwan such a moving piece.'

The second half focuses on contemporary composers. Chou Sheng-wen mentioned that the concert features two premiere commissioned works. Zhuo Chi-rou's double ruan concerto 'Mianyue Line' is inspired by the Alishan forest railway; Li Jia-ying's 'Evolution·Sound' draws creative power from the 60-year development process of Taiwanese Chinese music. Composer Ren Zhong's pipa concerto 'Facing the Snow' brilliantly combines Chinese music with literature.

Chou Sheng-wen said that looking back is to hear the sounds left by time, and gazing is to imagine how the future will be remembered. He hopes the audience can feel the 60-year transformation of Taiwanese Chinese music through the concert. 'More importantly, how we can find inspiration from here and find the strength to keep moving forward.'

The Taiwan Chinese Orchestra's 'Looking Back' concert will be held on June 27 at the Grand Performance Hall of the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center. Participating soloists include the orchestra's pipa principal Wang Yi-chu, and winners of the NCO Instrumental Competition's Zhongruan Rising Star Selection, Tsai An-chiao and Sun Yu-ying. (Editor: Li Hengshan) 1150610