Lan SHUI, Sayaka Shoji & NTSO

Born in Tokyo, Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji moved to Siena, Italy, at the age of three. She made her debut at the Lucerne Festival at fourteen; in 1999, at just sixteen, Shoji won First Prize at the Paganini International Violin Competition, becoming the first Japanese violinist to receive this honor and the youngest First Prize winner in the competition's history. Shoji's early experience of living in both Italy and Japan has shaped her distinctive musical sensibility, and she is renowned on the international stage for her refined and masterful interpretations, as well as her highly expressive playing. During this visit to Taiwan, she will join Lan SHUI and NTSO in Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Violin Concerto No. 2, I Profeti. The composition features three movements that portray the biblical prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Elijah, respectively. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who was particularly adept at composing film music, creates a richly Romantic, dazzling, and dramatically theatrical Jewish-inflected musical atmosphere. We can't wait to hear how Shoji, who grew up in Italy, will interpret this intensely emotional masterpiece. The concert will open with Rossini's famous Overture to The Barber of Seville, providing a lively prelude to the equally impassioned concerto. By contrast, Holst's The Planets in the second half of the concert presents a more restrained and rational line of thought. The English composer observed the seven planets through the lens of astrology rather than astronomy, and created a distinct sound world for each one. Among the seven movements, the most familiar are surely the ruthless "Mars, the Bringer of War" and the deeply moving lyrical middle section of "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity." Yet each movement has its own distinct artistry, and the final movement, "Neptune, the Mystic", with its remoteness, ethereal shimmer, and stillness, transforms the listening experience into a strange and touching encounter with the soul.