*At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
*As of press time, NT$500 tickets are sold out, but seats are still available from NT$800 to NT$3,600 through NTCH ticketing.
*Tonight at 7:30pm

The 2006 Taiwan International Choral Ensemble Festival (2006台灣國際重唱藝術節) is now in its sixth year. This year's festival provides an array of concerts by different ensemble and choral groups from the world. The week-long festival, which is organized by the Taiwan Choral Music Center (台灣合唱音樂中心), will run from Sept. 30 until Oct. 6 in many cities around Taiwan, including Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung.

*Online ticket sales and ticket information for the festival can be found at the website: www.tcmc.org.tw/festival/index.htm. And, Tickets are available through NTCH ticketing.

Fazil Say Piano Recital (法佐塞依鋼琴獨奏會) organized by Musica Daphne (丹楓樂集室內樂團) will be held at the National Concert Hall on Oct. 2. Fazil Say is a regular guest with the New York Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, the Orchestra National de France, and other leading orchestras across the globe. At 17, he was awarded a scholarship that enabled him to study for five years with David Levine at the Robert Schumann Institute in Dusseldorf. From 1992 to 1995, he continued his studies at the Berlin Conservatory. In 1994, he was the winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, which gave a rapid start to his international career. Say's passion for jazz and improvisation led him to found the Worldjazz Quartet. He is just as much a composer as he is a pianist. He has composed highly virtuosic adaptations for piano and orchestra of such works as <Mozart's Rondo alla turca> and <Paganini Jazz>. He is writing a new solo piece for the 2006 Salzburg Festival and an orchestral work at the planning stage. The newspaper <<Le Figaro>> wrote that "e is not merely a pianist of genius; undoubtedly he will be one of the great artists of the 21st century." On his concert tour of Taiwan, he will play Mozart's <Ah! Vous dirais-je, Maman>, <Piano Sonata, K.331>, and <Fantasy in D Minor>, Bach-Busoni's <Chaconne>, and Beethoven's <Appassionata Sonata>.
*At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
*Tickets cost from NT$500 to NT$2,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
*Monday at 7:30pm

The Lang Lang Piano Recital (朗朗鋼琴獨奏會) will be held at the National Concert Hall on Oct. 3. The concert originally scheduled at the Chungli Arts Center (中壢藝術館音樂廳) on Oct. 4 has been cancelled. Lang lang was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic and all of the "Big Five" American orchestras -- the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra. His debut in the popular BBC "Proms" prompted <<The Times>> of London to write that "Lang Lang took a sold-out Albert Hall by storm." The program will include Mozart's <Piano Sonata No.10 in C Major, K.330>, Chopin's <Piano Sonata No.3 in B Minor, Op.58>, Schumann's <Scenes From Childhood, Op.15>, Rachmaninoff's <Two Preludes, Op.23>, Liszt's <Petrarch Sonnet No.104> from <Annees de Pelerinage> and <Hungarian Rhapsody No.2, S244> transcribed by Horowitz.

*At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
*As of press time, tickets from NT$600 to NT$1,200 are sold out, but seats are still available from NT$1,800 to NT$3,000 through ERA ticketing.
*Tuesday at 7:30pm

National Symphony Orchestra 20th Anniversary Series: Nordic Blaze (國家交響樂團20週年歡慶系列: 北國烈焰) will feature Russian violinist Vadim Repin and conductor Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) and will be held at the National Concert Hall on Oct. 4 as part of the event celebrating the NSO's 20th Anniversary. The concert will be on the theme of late composer Jean Sibelius' works, most of which were taken mainly from national epics and folk tales. The program will include three of Sibelius' works, <Karelia Suite, Op.11>, <Symphony No.5, Op.82>, and <Violin Concerto, Op.47>. Though some of Sibelius' music tend to be a bit gloomy and depressing, it is full of deep emotion. The high-spirited <Karelia Suite>, with its powerful gestures and brassy melody, is like a bright green twig finally bursting through the heavy snow of winter. <Symphony No. 5> uses woodwind instruments to depict the call of birds, while the trill of the orchestra depicts the sound of the wind blowing against the leaves. The magnificent Sibelius' <Violin Concerto> is considered the litmus test that separates the ordinary violinists form the truly great masters. Repin's artistry combines fiery passion with impeccable technique, poetry nad sensitivity and was regarded as "the greatest living violinist" by the Berlin Tagesspiegel. A pre-concert lecture will be presided over by Hsing Tzu-ching (邢子菁) and held in the lobby of the National Concert Hall 30 minutes prior to the concert.
*At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
*Tickets range from NT$300 to NT$1,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
*Wednesday at 7:30pm