NSO Conductor Emeritus Lü Shao-chia remarked that Jiang Wen-Ye was Taiwan’s first composer to rise to international fame. He boasted profound accomplishment in music and art research, also leaving his mark as a versatile literary and cultural scholar. This new album features his first composition from nine decades ago, Formosan Dance, as well as Fantasia for Orchestra. These sounds bear great historical and cultural significance: they carry his deep longing for his homeland, Taiwan, through time and space.
This new release includes Jiang Wen-ye’s manuscripts stored away for nearly 90 years. Also featured are Fantasia for Orchestra, premiered in Taiwan by the NSO in 2023; the magnificent and melodious Formosan Dance; Sinfonietta for String Orchestra, a symbol of rebirth after adversity; and Drowned in the Miluo River, a lament for the past. In addition, the album comprises works by three contemporary Taiwanese composers who pay tribute to Jiang Wen-ye: Chen Ke-chia’s Island Rhapsody, an extension and re-creation of Sketches of the Old Capital; Lin Ching-mei’s Dream Gazing, which conveys Jiang Wen-ye’s retrospection later in life; and Li Yuan-chen’s Resounding The Singing Voice of Mt. Ali, based on Jiang’s The Song of Ali Mountain. It also features Tao of Meinong—inspired by Meinong culture, the piece incorporates elements of Hakka Eight Tones and hill songs. Overall, this musical collection spans multiple soundscapes representative of cross-generational dialogue and cultural continuity.
Scheduled to embark on a tour across the United States in May, the NSO hopes to shine a global spotlight on Taiwanese Hakka music through overseas performances and show international audiences its rich cultural heritage and contemporary creativeness.
