衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

For the second concert of the Weiwuying Organ Festival, the main course will be chamber music with organ, in which different instruments—trumpet, flute, and piano—are used to showcase the many faces of the pipe organ. The pieces to be performed includes George Frideric HANDEL's Water Music Suite for Trumpet and Organ, Wilhelm Friedemann BACH's Sonata in e minor for Flute and Organ, and Franz LISZT's Les Préludes, Symphonic Poem No. 3, transcribed for Organ and Piano. The concert also features solo performances, including Johann Sebastian BACH's famous Toccata and Fugue in d minor, BWV 565, as well as his Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue for Piano.

The organist is Christian SCHMITT, the artistic director of the festival, who made his first visit to Taiwan in 2015 to perform as a soloist in the National Symphony Orchestra's Season Opening Concert. The pianist is Grammy nominated Joseph MOOG, and the flutist is Tatjana RUHLAND of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, HOU Chuan-an, principal trumpet of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, has also been invited to perform at the festival.

The combination of trumpet and organ can be considered a perfect match of bright, brilliant timbre, while the combination of flute and organ delivers the gentle grace of woodwind instruments and the combination of organ and piano shows an energetic clash between the two kings of instruments. The pipe organ can be both exuberant and sentimental. Join us to experience the different qualities of organ music!

  Program  

G. F. HANDEL: Water Music Suite, No. 2, HWV 349 (for Trumpet and Organ)

C. M. WIDOR: Suite for Flute and Piano, Op. 34, No. 1

J. S. BACH: Toccata and Fugue in d minor, BWV 565 

-Intermission-

W. F. BACH: Sonata in e minor for Flute and Organ, BR-WFB B 17

J.S. BACH: Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue, BWV 903, for Piano

F. LISZT:  Les Préludes, Symphonic Poem No. 3, S. 97 (Transcr. for Organ & Piano)

  Creative and Production Team  

Organ｜Christian SCHMITT

Flute｜Tatjana RUHLAND

Piano｜Joseph MOOG

Trumpet｜HOU Chuan-an  

  Artists introduction  

Organ｜Christian SCHMITT

Christian SCHMITT performs regularly with well-known conductors and soloists including Sir Simon RATTLE, Phillipe HERREWEGHE, Jakub HRŮŠA, Marek JANOWSKI, Manfred HONECK, Magdalena KOŽENA, Martin GRUBINGER, Juliane BANSE or Michael VOLLE. He has performed in renowned venues including Philharmonie Berlin, Konzerthaus Berlin, Musikverein Vienna, and Kölner Philharmonie. As an organ virtuoso, he is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic and internationally sought-after concert organists and chamber music partners of today. 

Christian SCHMITT's great passion is the extensive romantic organ repertoire, yet his artistic spectrum goes far beyond that. He has given concerts on many of the historic organs of Europe and also devotes himself to contemporary repertoire. Christian SCHMITT serves as organ consultant for the restoration and reconstruction of organs, a.o. Berlin, Zurich, Lucerne and Brno. He is a member of numerous international music competition juries. 

Flute｜Tatjana RUHLAND

Once called the "Paganini of the flute" by a critic, OPUS KLASSIK winner Tatjana RUHLAND has numbered among the most acclaimed performers of her instrument at least since her Carnegie Hall début. In December 2018, she performed DEBUSSY's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune with the Berlin Philharmonic, described as "a fabulous faun" by Berlin's leading newspaper and highly acclaimed by the audience. Being the solo flutist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra (chief conductor Teodor CURRENTZIS) since 2000, she is a frequent guest in other radio, opera and symphony orchestras. 

Tatjana RUHLAND was born in Regensburg and received her training in Munich, New York and Siena. Besides winning first prizes at the German University Competition and the Prague Spring International Competition (1996), she is a laureate of the prestigious Kobe International Flute Competition (Japan, 1997) and the East&West International Auditions (New York, 1999) and has held a scholarship from the German Music Competition.

Piano｜ Joseph MOOG

Joseph MOOG's ability to combine exquisite technical skill with a mature and intelligent musicality set him apart as a pianist of exceptional diversity. A champion of the well-known masterworks as well as a true advocate of rare and forgotten repertoire paired with his quality to compose and arrange, Joseph was awarded the accolade of Gramophone Young Artist of the Year 2015 and was also nominated for the GRAMMY in 2016.

Joseph has an extensive discography and has received countless awards for his recordings, as well as outstanding critiques from the international press: November 2017 saw the release of his eleventh CD featuring BRAHMS' Piano Concerto No. 2 and STRAUSS' Burleske which was nominated for the 2018 ICMA Awards. It was followed by his recording of DEBUSSY's complete Etudes and RAVEL's Gaspard de la Nuit released in November 2018 which was rated 5 Diapasons in France among many other rave reviews. His much-anticipated album Heaven and Hell of LISZT's Sonatas & Legends will be released in October 2019.

Trumpet｜HOU Chuan-an   

HOU Chuan-an started playing the trumpet with his father at the age of 12. He then completed his bachelor in music with a full scholarship at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, where he was awarded the highest recorded grade for his graduate performance. After that, he completed his master's degree at New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Ben WRIGHT. Chuan-an is now in his third semester as Concertexamer candidate at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg under Matthias HÖFS. 

HOU Chuan-an joined the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in 2013 as principal trumpet. He has also appeared as a guest artist in numerous performances and recording sessions with orchestras in Hamburg, Boston and Taiwan, as well as with Hamburg Opera, Boston Chamber Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra. The Boston Globe once mentioned: "HOU Chuan-an's trumpet solo was gorgeous in both tone and phrasing."