Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) will celebrate its 20th anniversary in a concert Oct. 23 featuring the works of Richard Strauss, a spokesman announced Thursday.
Led by Music Director Chien Wen-pin, more than 100 NSO musicians will perform in the anniversary celebration, which is titled "The Richard Strauss Cycle" and will take place at the National Concert Hall.
NSO has also commissioned local composer Pan Hwang-long to write anew symphony for the occasion. Titled Hetevophony Concerto for Orchestra, Pan combines beiguan (a form of traditional Chinese music) with Western orchestration to create a fusion of Eastern and Western musical styles.
"The NSO's overall improvement as a group in recent years has been astonishing, " Pan said, adding that he believes the NSO is capable of performing any high-difficulty work now.
In addition, Ricardo Morales and Daniel Matsukawa, the woodwind principal players of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will team up with the NSO to perform Richard Strauss' Duett Concertino.