ARTISTS

(…) the Viennese-trained Lü (…) coaxed from them a burnished, glowing sound that showed off Strauss’ luscious orchestration: the strings rippled with menace and the brass and woodwind relished their angst-filled discords.
OPERA 2011/05
             
Lü has an innate gift for flow and pulse. His tight, buoyant rhythms are the perfect match for this orchestra’s incisive rhythms and astounding ensemble-sine qua non qualities (…).
American Record Guide 2011/01
             
There was also a convincing performance of the Adagio from Mahler’s Tenth Symphony, Lü’s carefully calibrated rendering capturing the angst.
Gramophone 2009/9
 
 
Founded in 1986, the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), also known as Philharmonia Taiwan, has built programs and activities that have increased the country's cultural richness and stimulated audiences throughout Taiwan.  The orchestra became an artistic affiliate of the National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center in 2005.
 
The NSO continues to flourish, receiving government support and enjoying a growing audience base from its inception. It has given thousands of concerts, launched many education programs, and hosted several music activities mostly at its resident venue, the National Concert Hall in Taipei. Tour performances were also regularly offered throughout Taiwan and in overseas, in places such as Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sapporo, Tokyo, Yokohama and Hong Kong.
 
The NSO works regularly with and internationally acclaimed musicians, including Lorin Maazel, K. Penderecki, Rudolf Barshai, Uri Mayer, Joseph Silverstein, Leonard Slatkin, Christopher Hogwood, Christopher Poppen and many others.
 
The orchestra has been led by two noted principle conductors, Gerard Akoka and Urs Schneider, and benefited from the leadership of many music directors, including Tsang-Houei Hsu, Da-Shen Chang, Jahja Ling and Wen-Pin Chien. During Chien’s tenure (2001~2007), the NSO explored a wide range of repertoire, including the Beethoven cycles, Mahler, Shostakovich, R. Strauss and Tchaikovsky.  In 2008~2010, Maestro Günther Herbig was the Artistic Adviser and Principal Guest Conductor of the NSO. Under Mr. Herbig’s leadership, the NSO not only continues to build an extensive repertoire from classical to contemporary music, but also kicked off the project of  “Call for Score” that commission and premiere orchestral works devoted to promoting the music of Taiwanese composers.
 
The NSO has also enjoyed performing theater/opera productions and working with the world-renown choreographer and founder of the Cloudgate Company, Lin Hwai-Min, director and founder of PWSHOP, Stanly Lai, the digital artists Klaus Obermaier, French stage director Lukas Hemleb and Juliette Deschamps. Since 2007, the NSO has collaborated with world-class opera houses for its multinational productions, such as Der Rosenkavalier with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 2007, Carmen with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Norwegian National Opera and Opera Australia in 2009 and Madama Butterfly with Opera Australia in 2011.
 
Starting August 2010, Maestro Shao-Chia Lü has been Music Director of NSO and will lead the NSO continually to further enrich its performances and carry out its mission as the flagship of classical ensemble in Taiwan.