A festive Brucknerian sojourn in Taipei

Wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and blessed New Year.

Christmas tree in Taipei Train Station

Sometimes when my passion for Bruckner's music has reached fever pitch, I'd tend to do some funny things in the eyes of the disinterested. That was exactly the case when I decided on Friday 14 December to fly to Taipei and attend Shao-Chia Lü's Bruckner's Sixth concert two days later on 16 December. As I need to go to work on Saturdays and Mondays, particularly the latter when I invariably have a very busy schedule, the only option left is to fly to Taipei on Sunday morning and come back to Hong Kong on the first flight on Monday morning. That would mean I have to take the first coach at 04:30 from the Taipei train station to the airport to catch the 07:00 flight, so as to arrive in Hong Kong at 08:45 and then go to work straightaway. Every one will notice immediately that it is not the smartest itinerary in comfort terms. But anyway it was what this silly bloke had pursued.

This is not my first time going to Taipei for concerts. I've done that quite some years ago, but as there were no special reasons to entice me to concerts there in recent years, this trip suddenly became something like meeting with an old friend. The National Concert Hall is housed in a very beautiful building, one of two similar buildings flanking the Liberty Square in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in central Taipei.

The National Theater in the foreground and the National Concert Hall in the background

The National Concert Hall Taipei

The National Theater Taipei

I was lucky to be able to book online a ticket in one of best positions, in the centre of the stall seats. Much to my surprise, this is not a top-priced ticket but only second in the price ladder. As such the pricing in this concert hall is a little strange and different from all of the concert venues I've attended. However, who would complain paying less for one of the best positioned seats? 

It is a pity that the attendance in this concert was rather disappointing. When I last checked the online ticketing service on 15 December, there were still more than 1000 tickets left for sale. This concert hall has 2074 seats. Looking around before the concert, my impression was that the hall was almost half empty, but with a sizeable portion of the audience in the stalls seats, it didn't look that bad.

The Taiwanese audience is one of the best in terms of concert etiquette I've encountered in my concert attending experience. They are quiet and attentive, which although it sounds so simple and basic, is not something to be taken for granted in many other places. And it made the concert all the more memorable.

The concert leaflet on the left and the programme booklet on the right

The concert programme on that night is truly generous. The first half is made up of Mozart's Symphony No. 35 "Haffner" and the world premiere of a commissioned work by Christian Jost, Taipei Horizon. The second half is the main attraction for me: Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 in A major. The programme notes can be accessed on line here.

The seating of the strings section on that night was, from the left to the right of the conductor, first violins, second violins, cellos and then violas. The tone and playing of the violins are enviable. However, one would wish for a cello section with more weight and depth in tone. The woodwinds are a definite asset in the orchestra. It is overall a very fine ensemble, superior to many Asian orchestras.

The Mozart was light and graceful in the Andante and Menuetto, but I'd wish for a little more fire in the outer movements. The premiered work is a single movement piece which I quite like.

Shao-Chia Lü proves to be a very eloquent Brucknerian as judged from his live recording of Bruckner's Fourth and the present concert of the Sixth. One of the hallmarks in his Bruckner is the warmth and beauty of sound he conveys. His phrasings and legatos are lovely. While musicologists might have differing ideas in the debate about speech-like versus song-like interpretations in Bruckner, Lü's is definitely song-like and lyrical.

The nervousness in the opening of the symphony -- some imperfect intonations in the brass and the violin's rhythmic opening could be more distinct -- was soon overcome from the second thematic group onwards. I was smiling when I heard the immense range of fine modulations the conductor bestowed on the first movement and the rich palette of colour the orchestra showed. The first movement finished with an exuberant incandescence in the coda. The woodwinds stole the limelight particularly in the Adagio, not least the oboe lament in the first theme. The dialogue between the cellos and first violins was also absorbing. I'd like to hear, however, a little more contrasts between the different thematic groups in this sonata-form slow movement. A finely balanced rhythmic Scherzo was paired with a Trio with lovely exchanges between the superb woodwinds and the strings. When it came to the Finale, the orchestra did not disappoint. The orchestra and the conductor were like hand in glove, and together they concluded the symphony in the triumphant A major splendour.

Objectively I might say the night was a qualified success, but deep in my heart I was already satisfied with having the opportunity to hear this less-often performed Bruckner symphony so finely and dedicatedly performed. 

I have already set sight on the NSO's next Bruckner concert: Bruckner's Fifth conducted by Günther Herbig on 10 May 2013.

Before I end this post, let me share with you some snapshots of the beautiful phalaenopsis orchids in Taiwan. These orchids are simply amazing.