Music of Taiwan
A full-time aboriginal radio station, "Ho-hi-yan" was launched in 2005[5] with the help of the Executive Yuan, to focus on issues of interest to the indigenous community.[7] The 1991 formation of the Formosa Aboriginal Dance Troupe was another major contributor to this trend, while the surprise mainstream success of "Return to Innocence", the theme song to the 1996 Olympic Games, further popularized native musics.[8] The Bunun's original home was on Taiwan's west coast, in the central and northern plains, but some have more recently settled in the area around Taitung and Hualien.In modern times, David Darling, an American cellist, created a project to combine cello and Bunun traditional music, resulting in an album titled Mudanin Kata.[9] Bayin references the eight materials that have traditionally been used to make Chinese instruments: metal, stone, earth, skin, string, wood, gourd, and bamboo (金、石、土、革，絲、木、匏、竹).It wasn't until the ruling Qing government opened up to trade exchanges with Europe in the mid-19th century that secular Western music began to gain to a foothold in Taiwan.[13] During Qing dynasty rule, Taiwan's churches played a major role in the spread of Western music through congregation members, foreign merchants, and missionaries.In 1895, Japanese rule of Taiwan began, leading to a formal introduction of a Western music education system in the core curriculum of Taiwanese schooling.Su-Ti Chen, one of the first-generation Taiwanese composers, received his formal music education in Taiwan schooling before traveling to Japan for further study.Tyzen Hsiao, a composer born in Fongshan, Kaohsiung, was taught to play the piano by his mother, who was one of the first-generation pianists to study in Japan.One is the church system and the other the Western music education introduced during the Japanese rule and musicians returning to Taiwan after studying abroad in Japan.After the Second World War, Taiwan's political atmosphere and economic situation shifted abruptly, a change which was reflected in contemporaneous music activity.At the same time, Taiwanese musicians who had traveled to Japan for study, such as Ci-mei Gao and Cai-xiang Zhang, also joined the faculty after their return to Taiwan, resulting in the school's music educational curriculum reflecting the principles of two different systems.For example, The Song of Pipa for a female soloist and orchestra, composed by Wei-liang Shih, adapted the poem of the same title written by poet Juyi Bai of the Tang dynasty as its lyrics.The Bamboo Flute Concerto was selected as the theme song of the Broadcasting Corporation of China based on its reputation as a monumental Taiwanese musical piece.[17] This piece was followed by Shui-long Ma's symphonic suite Xiang Yu and His Concubine, a work based on the history of the Chu-Han Contention in ancient China.Musicians returning from their studies in Japan, including Chih-yuan Kuo, Chuan-sheng Lu, and Erh Lin, and others, were fervent in creating new pieces for the events held by this society.Students studying composition at Taiwan Provincial Normal University and the National Taiwan Academy of Arts received a great deal of exposure to Chinese traditional music, operas, and works written by Chinese composers from the first half of the 20th century, such as art songs by Tzu Huang, Yuen-ren Chao, Bao-chen Li, and Xue'an Liu, and others, in their tutelage led by musicians from mainland China.After these students graduated, some taught music at schools, such as Yen Lu, while some worked as researchers or orchestral musicians in the Taiwan Provincial Symphony Orchestra, including Loong-hsing Wen, Hsuan-wen Chang, and Deh-ho Lai, etc.He invited several alumni of the National Taiwan Academy of Arts and composers returning from abroad to join this division, including Deh-ho Lai, Loong-hsing Wen, Chang-fa Yu,[21] among others.In addition to the composers mentioned above, Mau-liang Chen, Chin-tang Shen, and Shui-long Ma, also alumni of the National Taiwan Academy of Arts, were also members of this society.The autumn concert held later the same year brought in veteran composers, such as Tsang-houei Hsu, Hwang-long Pan, Yen Lu, Ting-lien Wu, Nan-chang Chien, Shing-kwei Tzeng, and Hao Chang.Many of the outstanding composers featured in the concerts have won prizes in the international composition competitions, for example, Jing Peng, Ming-hsiu Yen, Wei-chih Liu, Ching-meio Lin, Chiu-yu Chou, Shih-hui Chen, Yuan-chen Li, Chung-kun Hung, Tzyy-sheng Lee, and others.This system offered opportunities to local vocalists to showcase their talents and other art workers to develop the skills needed for handling the delicate and complicated work that goes into producing an opera.Both the quantity of performances and the production standards are on par with those produced by public orchestras and the theater serves as an important base for nurturing local opera singers and conductors alike.From Tai-li Chu in the past to the more recent Li-chin Huang, Keng Li, I-chiao Shih, Chia-fen Wu, Hanying Iaia Tso, Taiwan on the whole has raised many young and aspiring vocalists active onstage in many international opera houses.For example, Deh-ho Lai was commissioned by Hwai-min Lin, the founder of Cloud Gate Dancer Theater, to write the music for White Serpent Tale and The Dream of the Red Chamber.In contrast, Mandarin pop, due to the assimilation policy of the authoritarian Kuomintang regime (1945–1996) that suppressed Taiwanese languages and culture, appealed to younger listeners.For latest generation of pop music in Taiwan, singing reality shows such as One Million Star and Super idol have brought many ordinary people to fame, such as Jam Hsiao, Yoga Lin, Aska Yang, Lala Hsu, William Wei and so on.The 1990s and early 2000s also saw the emergence of bands and artists of more diverse genres, such as Sodagreen, Deserts Chang, Cheer Chen, who have achieved commercial success and brought the new "indie" era of Taiwanese pop music.
Taiwanese HokkienHokkien popApo HsuNational Concert HallTaipeiTaiwanTaiwanese peopleits cultural historyfolk musicclassical musicpop musicMandopopKuomintangRepublic of ChinaTaiwanese cultureStandard Chineseofficial languagemartial lawTaiwanese localization movementbeiguannanguanQuanzhouLukangTaiwanese puppetryTaiwanese operaHengchun PeninsulayueqinChen DaTaiwanese aboriginesplains-dwellersPaiwanExecutive YuanPuyuma tribeDifangSamingadFormosa Aboriginal Dance TroupeReturn to Innocence1996 Olympic GamesEnigmaTaitungHualiendance musicimprovisedpolyphonicpestleszithersjaw harpDavid DarlingcellistShan'geMing DynastyQing DynastyHakka cultureHakka Affairs CouncilTaiwan Provincial Normal UniversityShanghai Conservatory of MusicTyzen HsiaoNational Taiwan Academy of the ArtsNational Taiwan University of ArtsTang dynastyNational Taiwan Symphony OrchestraChu-Han ContentionLiu Bang26th Golden Melody AwardsMosei LinYuen-ren ChaoShan-hua ChienTaiwanese rockTaiwanese hip hopTaiwanese campus folk songfolk rockJapaneseMandarin popTeresa TengSinophone worldBlacklist StudioRock Recordship hopLin ChiangMarching ForwardNew Taiwanese SongWu BaiChang Chen-yueJimmy LinEmil Wakin ChauShow LoJay ChouJolin TsaiMaydayreality showsOne Million StarJam HsiaoYoga LinAska YangLala HsuWilliam WeiSodagreenDeserts ChangCheer ChenYour Woman Sleep With Othersdeca joinsSeraphimChthoniCFormoz FestivalSpring ScreamHohaiyan Rock FestivalYo La TengoExplosions in the SkyRainie YangDa MouthAmber KuoMainland ChinaMalaysiaSingaporeBloodstock Open AirPerforming arts in TaiwanBureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry DevelopmentHsu Tsang-HoueiList of best-selling albums in TaiwanList of Taiwanese singersMetal bands of TaiwanMusic of ChinaMusic of Hong KongRed Envelope ClubHakkapopTaiwanese wave