Blog
Weiwuying TIFA Contemporary Music Platform-A Dialogue between Classic and Contemporary Music that Encourages the Development of Current Music Trends
This year, Weiwuying is introducing Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA). Centered around music, the TIFA Contemporary Music Platform explores the past, narrate the presents, and explore the future, starting this April. The platform hopes to connect the artist, performer, and audience through experiments and practices through performances, music colleges, workshops, and international connections, maximizing the potential of the national performance venue and promoting contemporary works to create an ongoing, sustainable environment for the music of Taiwan. The three programs of this year are brought forth by teams and musicians from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and Germany.
Stereoscope, staged on the 20th and 21st of April, is a music-theatre-installation brought forth by Ensemble KNM Berlin. The internationally-renowned Ensemble KNM Berlin was established in 1988 and has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and was awarded the prestige “German Records Critic Award” twice. Ana Maria Rodriguez, the artist behind the music and live-electronics, was a participant of the artificial intelligence project of Fraunhofer, the largest research institute for applied science in Europe, and is an expert in composing music by integrating advanced technology in piano and composing. Stage designer Fred Pommerehn was the designer for various famous international performances. One of Pommerehn's most notable works is using the 23 paper trees displayed in front of Konzerthaus in Berlin as a method of assisting the 2011 International Year of Forest by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This collaboration between world-class masters will undoubtedly create a Utopia for music.
Scheduled to be showcased at the Recital Hall in the same week is The Modern-day Flavours of Nanyin and Naamyam, a co-production of electronic musician Li Chin Sung (Dickson Dee) and Nanyin artist Cai Yayi. Li Chin Sung has worked in the music industry for over 20 years and is a distinguished figure in the Chinese independent music scene. Li's works spread across a wide range of styles that cover electronic music, sound collage, and dance music; his work was listed among the 20 most important albums of the year by avant-garde music magazine The Wire. Li was also the producer of experimental documentary San Yuan Li, the music for Thomas Mao, directed by Zhu Wen, and has participated in major international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale. Cai Yayi is a representing figure of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Nanyin. Having studied Nanyin from various artists since childhood, Cai was awarded first prize in folk solo at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales, UK, and has performed at countless occasions in Europe, the US, and Japan. This integration between traditional Nanyin music and impromptu electronic music will bring a refreshing dialogue between traditional and modern music.
The Sound of Bloom's Epoch is a joint performance by Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and Germany-based Taiwanese composer Lin Liao. Hong Kong New Music Ensemble is hailed “one of Hong Kong's most progressive groups of musicians” by US's Cable News Network (CNN) and is a representing local contemporary music group that has performed several works by renowned contemporary musicians and staged various premieres for composers both domestic and abroad. Lin Liao is a conductor active on both the European stage of classical and contemporary music. Liao has collaborated with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, leading German music group Ensemble Modern, and has performed at the Lucerne Festival and Holland Festival. This night of performances features representing works by young composers, echoed by the early work by acclaimed composer George Benjamin.
Top Hash Tags
Related Programs
Weiwuying - TIFA Contemporary Music Platform|Ensemble KNM Berlin “Stereoscope”
MusicWeiwuying - TIFA Contemporary Music Platform| Lin Liao X Hong Kong New Music Ensemble 'The Sound of Bloom's Epoch'
MusicWeiwuying - TIFA Contemporary Music Platform|The Modern-Day Flavours Of Namyin and Naamyam
This work is commissioned by New Vision Arts Festival, Hong Kong, 2018, and created by electronic musician Dickson DEE and nanyin artist CAI Yayi. Together, they have been integrating and blending traditional nanyin and electronic jam for years.
MusicYou May Also Like
Arts Talk | Lecture sidenotes for October
The October Art Talk diverged from the norm, swapping out artist monologues for a participatory celebration of Weiwuying's five-year milestone. Facilitators KENG Yi-wei and TSENG Ching-wen, from the Wood With Branches Theater Studio, orchestrated a dialogue-centric event that erased conventional barriers between the arts venue and its patrons. It was a chance to reflect on whether Weiwuying has made art a tangible part of everyday life during its five-year journey.
The Most Brilliant Thing: Being Captured by Theater
I was actually not into interactive performances for a long time and frequently felt alienated by even those full of positive energy, but one such piece, Every Brilliant Thing, changed my view of why theater is still so important in contemporary society over the past few years. This plain, simple, yet strongly therapeutic one-man show seems to remind me (us) of why we need to sit with a bunch of strangers to watch performances and share our feelings.