Janos Gereben, San Francisco Classical Voice
After the orchestra’s first visit to Korea last week (part of their eighth tour of Asia), San Francisco Symphony musicians took a charter flight to Tainan — the first-ever direct flight from Seoul — to perform a concert that was the highlight of the southern Taiwanese city’s Rainbow Festival (Chai Hong).
A champion of the festival and the city’s mayor, Lai Ching-te, said the San Franciscans’ presence is a blessing, encouraging people to be strong,” pointing out the connection between the orchestra’s birth after the Great Quake of 1906 and what the people of Tainan and vicinity suffered in last February’s earthquake of 6.4 magnitude. First responders and victim families were invited guests at the concert.
The Nov. 12 concert in the Tainan Municipal Arts Center featured Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Yuja Wang), Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, and MTT’s Agnegram. An article in The China Times said:
In the aftermath of the earthquake, there is a continuing impact on the city, and the city government relief efforts mean to address the physical and psychological impact, with the inclusion of the performing arts to bring solace.
Yuja, the 2016 Musical America Artist of the Year, had tremendous success, with a standing ovation that brought her back to the stage six times for an audience that was unwilling to let her go.
Feature: San Francisco Classical Voice