臺北市立交響樂團

「臺北市立交響樂團的演出純淨、靈活以及強烈表現感，給人強烈的印象，亦藉此躋身國際頂尖交響樂團之流。」— 薩布呂肯日報

「跟臺北市立交響樂團的合作令人愉悅，除了良好的演出之外，更能快速的反應音樂上的需求。」— 黎志華

「你們具有毋庸置疑的國際演奏水準，是令人振奮的傑出音樂家。我真的很享受與大家共事，尤其是你們與瓦格指揮的人情味，對我而言就像與朋友同樂。」— 莎賓．梅耶

1969年，30餘位音樂家齊聚一堂，為當時尚稱一片荒蕪的臺北音樂環境，注入無數美妙的音符。40多年過去，這個小團體逐步成長，成為超過百人的大型樂團，為臺灣音樂演出史寫下精采的篇章，也成為唯一隸屬於首善之都的西方樂團 — 臺北市立交響樂團。

從成立之初，臺北市立交響樂團就以高水準的音樂品質聞名，邀請合作的知名音樂家更是不計其數，包括小提琴家祖克曼、大提琴家馬友友、羅斯托波維奇、指揮家泰密卡諾夫、單簧管演奏家莎賓．梅耶、長號演奏家林柏格、作曲家譚盾等。1979 年開辦的「臺北市音樂季」，更是臺灣大型音樂季之先河，除了邀請匹茲堡交響樂團、奧斯陸愛樂交響樂團、聖彼得堡愛樂交響樂團等國際知名樂團來臺外，更建立了每年進行歌劇製作的悠久傳統，曾演出《丑角》、《茶花女》、《浮士德》、《卡門》、《杜蘭朵》、《波西米亞人》等經典劇碼，2011 年 10 月《阿依達在臺北》，成為首齣登上臺北小巨蛋的全本歌劇表演，近年則以《狄托的仁慈》首次在臺全本演出、《納克索斯島上的阿麗雅德妮》、《尤金．奧涅金》與親子歌劇《聰明的女人》臺灣首演，確立臺北市立交響樂團在臺灣歌劇製作上的重要性。

除了國內演出，臺北市立交響樂團更沒有缺席於國際舞臺，曾赴奧地利、美國、日本、俄羅斯、法國、西班牙、德國、盧森堡、新加坡、中國、菲律賓等地演出；近年來更參與許多國際藝術節慶及重要活動，如 2008 年北京國家大劇院開幕系列演出、2009 年德國薩布呂肯藝術節、2010 年上海世博會、2011 年亞洲文化推展聯盟大會閉幕演出、2012 年日本金澤、富山及東京熱狂之日音樂節、2014 年日本札幌、橫濱巡迴音樂會以及2015 年6 月法國漢斯夏日漫步音樂節。至今共走過 12 個國家、45個城市的臺北市立交響樂團，不但讓世界聽到臺灣的高水準音樂表現，更透過音樂行銷城市，達到文化外交的遠大目標。

從創團團長鄧昌國的篳路藍縷，中間歷經陳暾初、陳秋盛、徐家駒、黃維明等團長的率領，臺北市立交響樂團成長至今日的樣貌，自 2016 年 3 月起由陳樹熙擔任團長。曾邀請匈牙利籍指揮家李格悌擔任音樂總監，2013 年 5 月邀請國際知名匈牙利裔指揮家吉博．瓦格出任首席指揮，引領臺北市立交響樂團邁向新的里程碑，為臺灣古典音樂舞臺創造更多驚豔！

Taipei Symphony Orchestra

"The clarity, agility, and expressiveness of the TSO are awe–inspiring, an orchestra destined to take its place as one of the world's top symphony orchestras." -Saarbrücker Zeitung

"Really enjoyed working with the TSO. They responded well in rehearsals. When the orchestra listens to each other, they sound great." - Jason Lai

"You are outstanding musicians with an inspiring enthusiasm who play on a technical level of doubtlessly international standard. I really loved working with you and especially enjoyed the warm personal contact with you and Maestro Varga. For me it was like playing with friends and I hope to come back soon."- Sabine Meyer

In 1969, when 30-odd musicians got together in a concert hall in Taipei, which at the time could still be called a relatively desolate music scene, they infused the city with countless notes of splendor. Now, more than 40 years later, that small group of musicians has grown up, becoming the 100-plus members of a large-scale orchestra – adding a brilliant chapter to the history of music performance in Taiwan, and becoming the only Western orchestra that truly belongs to the friendliest city in the world – the Taipei Symphony Orchestra (TSO).

Starting from the very inception of the ensemble, the TSO has been known for its high musical standards, and has invited innumerable renowned musicians to perform and collaborate with them, including violinist Pinchas Zukerman, cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor Yuri Temirkanov, clarinetist Sabine Meyer, trombonist Christian Lindberg and composer Tan Dun.

In 1979, when the first "Taipei Music Festival" was held, it set the precedent for large-scale music festivals in Taiwan, and aside from inviting renowned international orchestras, such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic, and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the TSO also established its long tradition of performing a different opera every year, including such classic operas as Pagliacci, La Dame aux camellias, Faust, Carmen, Turandot, and La bohème. In October of 2011, the TSO's production of Verdi's Aida was the first time a full opera was ever performed at the Taipei Arena. In recent years, the TSO performed La Clemenza di Tito in its entirety for the first time ever in Taiwan, performed the Taiwan debuts of Ariadne auf Naxos, Eugene Onegin and Die Kluge, establishing the importance of the TSO in Taiwan when it comes to producing operas.

Apart from performing in Taiwan, the TSO is no stranger to international concert halls, having performed in Austria, the US, Japan, Russia, France, Spain, Germany, Luxemburg, Singapore, China, and the Philippines. In recent years, the orchestra has participated in many international music festivals and important events, such as the concert series for the opening of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing in 2008, the Saarbrücken Arts Festival in Germany in 2009, the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, the closing ceremony of the Federation for Asian Cultural Promotion in 2011, La Folle Journée in Japan's Kanazawa, Toyama and Tokyo in 2012, toured Japan in 2014 performing in Sapporo and Yokohama, as well as France's Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims in June of 2015. To date the TSO has performed in 44 cities in 12 countries, not only allowing the world to hear superior musical performances from a Taiwanese orchestra, but also marketing the city of Taipei and realizing the lofty goals of cultural diplomacy.

Since the founding director Chang-Kuo Teng established the TSO, directors over the years have included Tun-Chu Chen, Felix Chiu-Sen Chen, Chia-Chu Hsu and Wei-Ming Hwang. In March 2016, Shu-Si Chen became the current General Director. The TSO invited Hungarian conductor András Ligeti to serve as music director, and ever since May of 2013, the internationally renowned Hungarian conductor Gilbert Varga has served has its principal conductor, leading the TSO to new milestones and creating more classical music miracles for Taiwan.