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

German organist Felix HELL launched his international career at a young age, with a recital in Russia at nine. At eleven had already toured around the world. HELL will be showcasing diverse organ works across three concerts at Weiwuying. In this first, together with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra conducted by Weiwuying Artistic Director CHIEN Wen-pin, HELL will perform HANDEL's Organ Concerto in F Major, The Cuckoo and the Nightingale, and Joseph JONGEN's Symphonie Concertante for Organ and Orchestra. HANDEL was expert in organ improvisation. His organ concertos were written for opera - less solemn and holy, more gorgeous and virtuosic. Here the organ expresses a cheerful bird song motif. Belgian composer JONGEN's concerto symphony is regarded as one of the most outstanding organ symphony works and is frequently performed and recorded by world-class organists and orchestras. The organ itself plays like an orchestra; the two majestic orchestras draw a romantic work full of images

  Pre-talk  

2022/10/8(Sat)18:50 Concert Hall 3rd Floor

  Program  

George Frideric HANDEL: Organ Concerto in F Major "The Cuckoo and the Nightingale", HWV 295

LEE Che-yi: Hengchun Folk Song Fantasy for Symphony Orchestra

Joseph JONGEN: Symphonie Concertante for organ and orchestra, Op.81

  Creative and Production Team  

Conductor｜CHIEN Wen-pin

Organ｜Felix HELL

Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra

  Artists Introduction  

Conductor: CHIEN Wen-pin

CHIEN Wen-pin, General and Artistic Director of the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), was born in 1967, graduated from the National Taiwan Academy of Arts and awarded with Master degree at the National University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna. CHIEN joined the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf/Duisburg, Germany) in 1996 and served as "Kapellmeister" for 22 years. 1998-2004 he was Resident Conductor of the Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan), 2001-2007 he was Music Director of National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan Philharmonic), during his tenure the orchestra has achieved several milestones such as creating Subscription series, commissioning Taiwanese composers, introducing an opera series which coroneted with the first production of the complete "Der Ring des Nibelungen" by Richard Wagner in Chinese speaking areas, upon orchestra’s 20th anniversary in 2006. 2014-2016 CHIEN was Artistic Advisor of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. In addition, CHIEN was winner of the "National Award for Arts" in 2014.

Organ: Felix HELL

A native of Germany, Felix Hell is one of the most sought after concert organists in the world. He has been featured as a recitalist and concerto soloist in more than 1000 concerts throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The American Organist raved that he "sets standards that older and honored players would struggle to equal."

Felix Hell's discography includes 12 CDs. His most recent recording titled "Poetic Visions" features Romantic Organ Music by German Composers. It was recored on the historic 1902 E.F. Walcker Organ in Lüdenscheid, Germany and includes works by Reger, Mendelssohn, Rheinberger, Brahms and Liszt. His recordings are frequently broadcast throughout the United States and across the world; he has appeared on television globally.

His project "Music Across America" allows him to travel with his own Touring Organ, performing organ concertos and recitals in spaces that do not house pipe organs, liberating the instrument from its historic confines.

Felix Hell is known for his diverse and innovative programming, drawing upon a repertoire encompassing five centuries. Furthermore, he has received global recognition for his marathon performances of the entire organ works of J.S. Bach, which encompass about 250 compositions and close to 20 hours of performance time. He has since performed the complete Bach cycle four times, most recently in 2013 in Seoul, Korea.

Mr. Hell is an avid supporter of new music for organ and frequently collaborates with composers.

Felix Hell studied at the Juilliard School in New York, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (BM), the Peabody Institute in Baltimore (AD, MM, DMA). In 2007, he received Johns Hopkins University's prestigious Outstanding Graduate Award.

Mr. Hell holds positions of Organ Artist Associate at Saint Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan, Distinguished Artist in Residence at the United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, and Adjunct Professor of Organ at the Sunderman Conservatory in Gettysburg, PA. In 2011, Felix Hell was appointed Distinguished Visiting Artist at Kosin University in Busan, South Korea.

Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra

Founded in 1981, the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra（KSO）taking pride as the music ambassador of Kaohsiung City, has collaborated with a variety of renowned artists at home and abroad, including Josep CARRERAS, Hayley WESTENRA, Rudolf BUCHBINDER, Vadim REPIN, Shlomo MINTZ, Mischa MAISKY and Akiko SUWANAI, to name a few. KSO strives to pursue music excellence while establishing its branding image: in addition to performing classic concerts in concert halls, KSO expands its repertoire by visiting different venues and space, and producing non-traditional performing arts close the audiences, as well as building up an unexplored arts population. KSO is in particular known for its featured participation in the annual Kaohsiung Spring Art Festival, including the open-air Grassland Concerts, the Amadeus Baby Concerts and the full Opera productions. More in the recent 2018 season, KSO has appeared in various opening programs of National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts - Weiwuying, the largest performance venue in Taiwan; the performances all earned KSO great acclaim.

KSO has been widely invited to perform in different regions of the world, including the United States, Macau, Nanjing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Suzhou, Singapore, Beijing, Japan and Hong Kong, receiving internationally-acclaimed applause. Crossing national and continental borders, the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra continues to push forwards an international first-class orchestra.