Tracing the Voice of Taiwan – HSU Tsang-houei 25th Anniversary Memorial Concert

Marking the 25th anniversary of the death of composer Hsu Tsang-houei (1929-2001), the pioneering mentor of modern Taiwanese music and initiator of the folk song collection movement, this concert presents the most representative large-scale works of Hsu’s career: the choral work “Song of Burying Flowers” (葬花吟), which combines Buddhist chant with classical Chinese literature; the piano concerto “Bai Jia Chun” (百家春), which merges the structure of Tang-dynasty grand suites with traditional Taiwanese beiguan tunes and variation form; the “Festival Overture” (慶典序曲), which reimagines the Qing-dynasty wind-and-percussion piece “Splendid Universe” (錦繡乾坤) for modern orchestra; the dance score “Peach Blossoms Bloom” (桃花開), based on Taiwanese Hakka folk songs; and the cantata “Ballad of the Army Carts” (兵車行), whose plans lay shelved for thirty years because of its anti-war message before it was finally heard in 1995. The concert opens with the gong-and-drum music from the prologue of the opera “The Legend of the White Snake” (白蛇傳), which the composer conceived and worked on for many years, inviting audiences to a musical feast that unites Taiwan’s local traditions with the classical traditions of East Asia, wide-ranging in subject and form and rich in cultural substance and historical depth.

(Written by 連憲升)

12/5 Weiwuying | Co-presented by: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), National Center for Traditional Arts, Taiwan Music Institute | Supported by: Hsu Tsang-houei Culture and Arts Foundation
12/19 National Concert Hall | Advised by: Ministry of Culture | Presented by: National Center for Traditional Arts, Taiwan Music Institute, National Symphony Orchestra | Supported by: Hsu Tsang-houei Culture and Arts Foundation