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Taiwan Diary: Cultural Experiences
Apr. 8th, 2024 10:59 amOne thing I regret in general about my life is that I don’t take as many opportunities to partake in cultural experiences as I’d like. I missed a free art exhibit of a Taiwanese comic creator last fall. I forget to look up concerts and plays. However, this is something I can improve, and I took steps this spring to do just that.
First, I attended a concert with my mom. We went to see the Little Giant Silk and Bamboo Chamber Orchestra (English translation of their name). They are a group of musicians who play traditional Chinese instruments such as pipa, erhu, guzheng, etc. We were expecting classical music as well, but it was a program of modern music, quite avant-garde, by Mexican composers. I can’t say that I really liked the music. Some of it sounded like it would be excellent as a score for a drama, like when an evil villain is onscreen. While I didn’t like the music, I liked the experience. Once I got over my disappointment, I started getting into watching the musicians. I studied music in college and have played for a long time (although not recently), so I had fun trying to figure out how some of the more unusual instruments worked, tried to follow different instruments in compositions, etc. I very much enjoyed the experience, and I was happy that my mom had a good time as well.
The second cultural experience was … less fun. My friend Taty and I attended a contemporary opera performance of “The Chronicles of Xiang Yu.” The program notes on the website (translated via Google Translate) say: This performance uses "avant-garde methods" to reshape the historical figure Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu. Through the perspective of Ma Qian of the Etai History Company, the true record of the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony in history is artistically reproduced on the stage.
The play retains classic traditional performances and also incorporates new aesthetic elements of contemporary drama, making it an audio-visual feast. The characters in the whole play are ready to be revealed throughout, exuding an epic and tragic charm.”
I know next to nothing about Peking Opera, so I can’t comment on how “avant-garde” the performance was, but I can say firmly that this style of opera is Not For Me. However, I would be willing to go to at least one more performance, like if the company was some world-renowned company. I would like to learn more about the tropes and what the costumes mean and what props and movements represent. One issue I had with this performance was that it was so loud! The theater was really small, and they had the musicians amplified, although the crashing cymbals and drums did not need it! I think I would want earplugs, like the kind you wear to concerts that let you hear things but still reduce the volume. There was some really interesting dancing, but it was accompanied by like five minutes of cymbal crashing! It was a lot to take in.
In both cases, the audiences overall seemed to really appreciate the performances, which was great. It helped me to connect with the performances. For the opera, I was very taken with the costumes and makeup and the live musical accompaniment (cymbals aside). For the concert, I truly enjoyed watching the different musicians. When I move to Shanghai, I want to look for a music teacher and learn to play a Chinese instrument, and after seeing the performance, I think the erhu or one of the flutes would be my best bet.
First, I attended a concert with my mom. We went to see the Little Giant Silk and Bamboo Chamber Orchestra (English translation of their name). They are a group of musicians who play traditional Chinese instruments such as pipa, erhu, guzheng, etc. We were expecting classical music as well, but it was a program of modern music, quite avant-garde, by Mexican composers. I can’t say that I really liked the music. Some of it sounded like it would be excellent as a score for a drama, like when an evil villain is onscreen. While I didn’t like the music, I liked the experience. Once I got over my disappointment, I started getting into watching the musicians. I studied music in college and have played for a long time (although not recently), so I had fun trying to figure out how some of the more unusual instruments worked, tried to follow different instruments in compositions, etc. I very much enjoyed the experience, and I was happy that my mom had a good time as well.
The second cultural experience was … less fun. My friend Taty and I attended a contemporary opera performance of “The Chronicles of Xiang Yu.” The program notes on the website (translated via Google Translate) say: This performance uses "avant-garde methods" to reshape the historical figure Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu. Through the perspective of Ma Qian of the Etai History Company, the true record of the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony in history is artistically reproduced on the stage.
The play retains classic traditional performances and also incorporates new aesthetic elements of contemporary drama, making it an audio-visual feast. The characters in the whole play are ready to be revealed throughout, exuding an epic and tragic charm.”
I know next to nothing about Peking Opera, so I can’t comment on how “avant-garde” the performance was, but I can say firmly that this style of opera is Not For Me. However, I would be willing to go to at least one more performance, like if the company was some world-renowned company. I would like to learn more about the tropes and what the costumes mean and what props and movements represent. One issue I had with this performance was that it was so loud! The theater was really small, and they had the musicians amplified, although the crashing cymbals and drums did not need it! I think I would want earplugs, like the kind you wear to concerts that let you hear things but still reduce the volume. There was some really interesting dancing, but it was accompanied by like five minutes of cymbal crashing! It was a lot to take in.
In both cases, the audiences overall seemed to really appreciate the performances, which was great. It helped me to connect with the performances. For the opera, I was very taken with the costumes and makeup and the live musical accompaniment (cymbals aside). For the concert, I truly enjoyed watching the different musicians. When I move to Shanghai, I want to look for a music teacher and learn to play a Chinese instrument, and after seeing the performance, I think the erhu or one of the flutes would be my best bet.
