News
NHK Symphony Orchestra Taiwan Tour
What's newJun 18, 2024
NHK Symphony Orchestra will tour Taiwan in August, 2024.
The orchestra is due to perform in three cities under the baton of its chief conductor, Fabio Luisi, with the rising young Taiwanese violinist, Paul Huang, as soloist.
This will be the orchestra’s third time to perform in Taiwan following previous visits in 1971 and 2016. In addition to revisiting Taipei, the orchestra will also present its first ever concerts in Taichung and Kaohsiung. Additionally, this will be Fabio Luisi’s first time to conduct the orchestra on overseas tour.
Artists
Fabio Luisi, conductor
Paul Huang, violin
Program
Weber / Der Freischütz, opera Op. 77 − Overture
Bruch / Violin Concerto No. 1 G Minor Op. 26
Tchaikovsky / Symphony No. 5 E Minor Op. 64
Concert venues:
Friday, August 23, 2024 7:30p.m. National Taichung Theater / Grand Theater
Saturday, August 24, 2024 7:30p.m. National Kaohsiung Center / Concert Hall
Sunday, August 25, 2024 7:30p.m. The National Concert Hall (Taipei)
Organizer: NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo / National Symphony Orchestra
Co-organizer: Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association
Special Thanks: All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. / JCB Co., Ltd. / Aisin Corporation / Adastria Taiwan Co., Ltd. / Iwatani Corporation / Miki Shoko Co., Ltd.
Fabio Luisi, conductor

Fabio Luisi hails from Genoa. He is the Principal Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He first conducted the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 2001, and in September 2022 he became Chief Conductor of the orchestra. In the 2022–23 season, his first season after assuming the post, Fabio Luisi conducted Verdi’s Requiem to commemorate his appointment in September. He has presented works of German and Austrian composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and R. Strauss as well as those of Franck and Saint-Saëns, Francophone composers, and with his conducting style full of passion and poetic sentiment, has captured the hearts of many of audience members. In August 2023, his tenure as Chief Conductor was extended by three years until August 2028.
He was General Music Director of the Opernhaus Zürich, Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Principal Conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker, as well as General Music Director of the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsische Staatsoper, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Chief Conductor of the Tonkünstler Orchester. He is Music Director of the Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca (Apulia) and has appeared as guest conductor with numerous renowned ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Münchener Philharmoniker, the Filarmonica della Scala, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Saito Kinen Orchestra, while also conducting operas at world’s major opera houses. Important recordings include Verdi, Bellini, Schumann, Berlioz, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Frank Martin, and Franz Schmidt, the largely forgotten Austrian composer. In addition, he has recorded various symphonic poems by Richard Strauss, and a lauded reading of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 with the Staatskapelle Dresden. His recordings of Wagner’s Siegfried and Götterdämmerung with the Metropolitan Opera won Grammy awards.
He was General Music Director of the Opernhaus Zürich, Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Principal Conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker, as well as General Music Director of the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsische Staatsoper, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Chief Conductor of the Tonkünstler Orchester. He is Music Director of the Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca (Apulia) and has appeared as guest conductor with numerous renowned ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Münchener Philharmoniker, the Filarmonica della Scala, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Saito Kinen Orchestra, while also conducting operas at world’s major opera houses. Important recordings include Verdi, Bellini, Schumann, Berlioz, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Frank Martin, and Franz Schmidt, the largely forgotten Austrian composer. In addition, he has recorded various symphonic poems by Richard Strauss, and a lauded reading of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 with the Staatskapelle Dresden. His recordings of Wagner’s Siegfried and Götterdämmerung with the Metropolitan Opera won Grammy awards.
Paul Huang, violin

Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, violinist Paul Huang is considered to be one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. The Washington Post remarked that Mr. Huang "possesses a big, luscious tone, spot-on intonation and a technique that makes the most punishing string phrases feel as natural as breathing," and further proclaimed him as "an artist with the goods for a significant career" following his recital debut at the Kennedy Center.
Known for his "unfailing attractive, golden, and resonant tone" (The Strad), Mr. Huang's recent highlights have included acclaim debut at Bravo!Vail Music Festival stepping in for violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in the Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.4 with Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic with Lahav Shani, Detroit Symphony with Leonard Slatkin, Houston Symphony with Andres Orozco-Estrada, NHK and Dallas Symphonies with Fabio Luisi, Baltimore Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic with Markus Stenz, San Francisco Symphony with Mei-Ann Chen, and recital debuts at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland and Aspen Music Festival. In Fall 2021, Paul also became the first classical violinist to perform his own arrangement of the National Anthem for the opening game of the NFL at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina to an audience of 75,000. An exclusive recording artist with France's Naïve Records, his debut album “Kaleidoscope" was released worldwide in October of 2023 and a second album is scheduled for release in January, 2025. His recording of Toshio Hosokawa's Violin Concerto "Genesis" with Residentie Orkest Den Haag will balso e released on NAXOS in June of 2024.
During the 2024-25 season, Mr. Huang returns to the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Hiroshima Symphony, San Diego Symphony Tucson Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and Knoxville Symphony, and makes debuts with Oregon, Indianapolis, and Toledo Symphonies.
2024-25 season recital, chamber music, and festival performances will include Mr. Huang’s return to both the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Camerata Pacifica, and his much anticipated recital at Minnesota Beethoven Festival. Mr. Huang will also return to Bravo!Vail, North Shore, Music@Menlo, Bridgehampton, and Santa Fe Music Festivals. In January 2025, Mr. Huang will launch the 3rd edition of "Paul Huang & Friends" International Chamber Music Festival in Taipei, Taiwan, in association with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.
Mr. Huang's recent recital engagements included Lincoln Center's "Great Performers" series and debuts at the Wigmore Hall, Seoul Arts Center, and the Louvre in Paris.
A frequent guest artist at music festivals worldwide, he has performed at the Seattle, Music@Menlo, Savannah, Caramoor, La Jolla, Santa Fe, Moritzburg, Kissinger Sommer, Sion, Orford Musique, and the PyeongChang Music Festival in South Korea. His chamber music collaborators have included Gil Shaham, Cho-Liang Lin, Nobuko Imai, Mischa Maisky, Jian Wang, Lynn Harrell, Yefim Bronfman, Kirill Gerstein and Marc-Andre Hamelin.
Winner of the 2011 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Mr. Huang made critically acclaimed recital debuts in New York at Lincoln Center and in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center. Other honors include First Prize at the 2009 Tibor Varga International Violin Competition Sion-Valais in Switzerland, the 2009 Chi-Mei Cultural Foundation Arts Award for Taiwan’s Most Promising Young Artists, the 2013 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and the 2014 Classical Recording Foundation Young Artist Award.
Born in Taiwan, Mr. Huang began violin lessons at the age of seven. He is a recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under Hyo Kang and I-Hao Lee. He plays on the legendary 1742 “ex-Wieniawski” Guarneri del Gesù on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago and is on the faculty of Taipei National University of the Arts. He resides in New York.
Known for his "unfailing attractive, golden, and resonant tone" (The Strad), Mr. Huang's recent highlights have included acclaim debut at Bravo!Vail Music Festival stepping in for violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in the Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.4 with Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic with Lahav Shani, Detroit Symphony with Leonard Slatkin, Houston Symphony with Andres Orozco-Estrada, NHK and Dallas Symphonies with Fabio Luisi, Baltimore Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic with Markus Stenz, San Francisco Symphony with Mei-Ann Chen, and recital debuts at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland and Aspen Music Festival. In Fall 2021, Paul also became the first classical violinist to perform his own arrangement of the National Anthem for the opening game of the NFL at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina to an audience of 75,000. An exclusive recording artist with France's Naïve Records, his debut album “Kaleidoscope" was released worldwide in October of 2023 and a second album is scheduled for release in January, 2025. His recording of Toshio Hosokawa's Violin Concerto "Genesis" with Residentie Orkest Den Haag will balso e released on NAXOS in June of 2024.
During the 2024-25 season, Mr. Huang returns to the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Hiroshima Symphony, San Diego Symphony Tucson Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and Knoxville Symphony, and makes debuts with Oregon, Indianapolis, and Toledo Symphonies.
2024-25 season recital, chamber music, and festival performances will include Mr. Huang’s return to both the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Camerata Pacifica, and his much anticipated recital at Minnesota Beethoven Festival. Mr. Huang will also return to Bravo!Vail, North Shore, Music@Menlo, Bridgehampton, and Santa Fe Music Festivals. In January 2025, Mr. Huang will launch the 3rd edition of "Paul Huang & Friends" International Chamber Music Festival in Taipei, Taiwan, in association with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.
Mr. Huang's recent recital engagements included Lincoln Center's "Great Performers" series and debuts at the Wigmore Hall, Seoul Arts Center, and the Louvre in Paris.
A frequent guest artist at music festivals worldwide, he has performed at the Seattle, Music@Menlo, Savannah, Caramoor, La Jolla, Santa Fe, Moritzburg, Kissinger Sommer, Sion, Orford Musique, and the PyeongChang Music Festival in South Korea. His chamber music collaborators have included Gil Shaham, Cho-Liang Lin, Nobuko Imai, Mischa Maisky, Jian Wang, Lynn Harrell, Yefim Bronfman, Kirill Gerstein and Marc-Andre Hamelin.
Winner of the 2011 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Mr. Huang made critically acclaimed recital debuts in New York at Lincoln Center and in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center. Other honors include First Prize at the 2009 Tibor Varga International Violin Competition Sion-Valais in Switzerland, the 2009 Chi-Mei Cultural Foundation Arts Award for Taiwan’s Most Promising Young Artists, the 2013 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and the 2014 Classical Recording Foundation Young Artist Award.
Born in Taiwan, Mr. Huang began violin lessons at the age of seven. He is a recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under Hyo Kang and I-Hao Lee. He plays on the legendary 1742 “ex-Wieniawski” Guarneri del Gesù on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago and is on the faculty of Taipei National University of the Arts. He resides in New York.
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo
The NHK Symphony Orchestra was established on October 5, 1926 under the name the New Symphony Orchestra, and laid its foundation as Japan’s leading orchestra under the direction of Joseph Rosenstock who was invited from Germany shortly after that. Its subscription concerts, the mainstay of its performances, began on February 20th, 1927, and they have continued to date without any interruption even during the Second World War. In 1951, it came under the financial support of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) and was renamed the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Since then, it has continuously invited world-renowned conductors, such as Jean Martinon, Herbert von Karajan, Ernest Ansermet, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Lovro von Matačić, Joseph Keilberth, Pierre Boulez, Otmar Suitner, Horst Stein, André Previn, and Lorin Maazel, and the world's most sought-after soloists to produce outstanding performances which have gone down in history. The orchestra marks its 100th anniversary in 2026.Currently it presents about 120 concerts annually across Japan, including 54 subscription concerts, which are broadcast nationwide by NHK television and FM radio and some of which are globally introduced through international broadcast services and the orchestra’s official YouTube channel.
Ever since its first around-the-world concert tour (visiting 24 cities in 12 countries) in 1960, the orchestra has put emphasis on performing overseas. In recent years, it appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 2013, and had a concert tour visiting 9 musical capitals in Europe including Berlin and Vienna in the spring of 2020, thus establishing a remarkable presence on world’s renowned stages. The orchestra is scheduled to have a concert tour in Taiwan in August 2024, and a European tour in May 2025 in conjunction with an invitation to the Mahler Festival (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam).
Contributing to society is also one of the orchestra’s essential activities, thus it has been engaged in a variety of projects such as a school-visiting program called NHK Music Club for Children, the N-Kyo Hotto Concert designed for the whole family to enjoy, chamber music concerts to give peace of mind to and cheer up people in disaster-stricken areas and hospitals, and the NHKSO Academy to foster next generation musicians.
Conductors who are closely associated with the NHK Symphony Orchestra include Fabio Luisi (Chief Conductor), Charles Dutoit (Music Director Emeritus), Herbert Blomstedt (Honorary Conductor Laureate), Vladimir Ashkenazy (Conductor Laureate), Paavo Järvi (Honorary Conductor), Tadaaki Otaka (Permanent Conductor), and Tatsuya Shimono (Permanent Conductor).
