National Theater and Concert Hall (Taiwan)

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National Concert Hall

Apo Hsu and the NTNU Symphony Orchestra on stage in the National Concert Hall.

The National Theater (traditional Chinese: 國家戲劇院) and National Concert Hall (traditional Chinese: 國家音樂廳) are twin performing arts venues in downtown Taipei, Taiwan, operated by Taiwan's national government. The landmarks stand, respectively, on the south and north sides of the Liberty Square in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, near Taiwan's Presidential Office Building. Together they are referred to by the acronym NTCH and represent facilities of the National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center.

1 History
2 Artistic Life
3 Nomenclature
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

The pipe organ in National Concert Hall was the largest in Asia when installed in 1987.

Taiwan's National Theater and National Concert Hall were among the first major performing arts facilities to be established in Asia. Upon the death of Chiang Kai-shek in 1975, the Kuomintang government authorized the construction of a monument and cultural arts facilities on the grounds of a memorial plaza. The project costed NTD 7 billion.

Yang Cho-cheng and Architects and Engineers Associates were responsible for the overall design. The buildings, though modern in function and purpose, recall traditional elements of Chinese palaces and Asian Buddhist temple architecture. The G+H Company (Germany) and Philips (The Netherlands) played leading roles in the design of the interior facilities, stage lighting and acoustics. Civil engineering issues were handled by Ret-Ser Engineers Agency (RSEA) and Engineering Corporation. Six directors oversaw the project from initial planning sessions to final completion: Jou Tsuo-Min, Chang Chih-liang, Liu Feng-shueh, Hu Yao-heng, Li Yen and Chu Tzung-ching.

The structures were completed on September 20, 1987 and officially opened their doors the following month as venues of the “National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center.” Vice President Lee Teng-hui and Premier Yu Kuo-hua presided over the opening ceremonies for the two buildings on October 31, 1987.

In 1999 the Ministry of Education integrated the administration of the Cultural Center with the administrations of the National Symphony Orchestra, National Chinese Orchestra and National Chorus. In 2004 this more robust Center administration became a distinct executive judicial body. The Cultural Center is led by an artistic director accountable to a board of directors. The artistic director oversees all activities in the two venues.

Each structure can host at least two events simultaneously. The National Theater incorporates a smaller Experimental Theater and the National Concert Hall incorporates a more intimate Recital Hall. The pipe organ in National Concert Hall, the largest in Asia at the time it was installed, is heard frequently in concerts and recitals. Both structures house art galleries, libraries, shops, and restaurants.

In addition to supporting performances at the two venues the Cultural Center hosts a Performing Arts Library and publishes the Performing Arts Review.

Taiwan's National Theater and Concert Hall, like all performing arts venues in capital cities, play diplomatic as well as artistic roles. Guests regularly include Taiwan's top elected leaders as well as international dignitaries. Visitors over the years have included Margaret Thatcher (UK), Mikhail Gorbachev (USSR), Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore), Rafael Calderón (Costa Rica) and Betty Ford (U.S.).^[1]

[edit] Artistic Life

National Concert Hall, view from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park

Thousands gather outside National Concert Hall to watch the broadcast of a performance inside by Simon Rattle and the Vienna Philharmonic. The National Theater provides the backdrop.

The National Theater and Concert Hall host a constant stream of events by local and international artists.

Performers who have appeared in the National Theater include the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, The Kirov Ballet, the Suzuki Company of Toga, Yang Li-hua Taiwanese Opera, the Ming Hwa Yuan Theater Troupe, the Fei Ma Yu Opera Troupe and Pili Heroes, kabuki performer Tamasaburo Bando, stage directors Tadaki Suzuki and Robert Wilson, and dancers Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Rudolph Nureyev, Pina Bausch, Trisha Brown, Liu Feng-hsueh, Lin Hwai-min, Lo Man-fei, Yu Hao-yen and Liu Shao-lu.^[1]

International performers in the National Concert Hall have included composers Philip Glass and Samuel Adler, sopranos Jessye Norman, Barbara Hendricks and Mirella Freni, tenors Placido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, baritone James Morris, violinists Pinchas Zukerman, Hilary Hahn and Akiko Suwanai, cellists Mtsislav Rostropovich and Yo-Yo Ma, pianists Ruth Slenczynska, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Fou Ts’ong and Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductors Sergiu Celibedache, Simon Rattle, Michael Tilson Thomas, Lorin Maazel and Helmuth Rilling. Ensembles include the Juilliard String Quartet, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Boys Choir.^[2] Concerts by visiting orchestras are often broadcast to overflow crowds numbering in the thousands who fill the Square. Taiwanese ensembles that regularly appear in the hall include the National Symphony Orchestra, the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, the Formosa Singers, and the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.

Artistic styles and traditions from every region of the planet are represented in the halls' events, including kabuki theater, Shakespearean drama, Taiwan opera and puppet drama, Verdi opera, African dance, Beijing opera, Broadway shows, Wagnerian music drama, American jazz, Parisian comic opera, and Latin dance. Both venues are the site of a variety of festivals and special events, including the Taipei International Arts Festival, a series of International Arts Festivals ("Call Out in Ecstacy", "Poetic Essays with Lively Meanings"), the British Theatre Festival, the Chinese Drama Festival, the Taipei Film Festival. The buildings regularly provide a backdrop to events on the square, including visits to Taiwan by foreign leaders and the annual Taipei Lantern Festival.^[3] The Classic 20 festival in 2007-2008 commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the halls. The festival season features visits by Tadashi Suzuki, Philip Glass, Robert Wilson, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the German Opera of the Rhine as well as Taiwan's Cloud Gate Dance Theater (雲門舞集), Yang Li-hua Taiwanese Opera (楊麗花歌仔戲), Performance Workshop Theater (表演工作坊) and New-Classic Dance Company (新古典舞團).^[4]

[edit] Nomenclature

The standard abbreviation NTCH (National Theater and Concert Hall) refers to the Cultural Center in its entirety. NCH (National Concert Hall) refers to the concert hall alone.