衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

Internationally renowned female cellists in Taiwan—showcasing the brilliance of women in music.

10/5(Sun)14:30

As part of the Taiwan International Cello Festival, this rare concert celebrating women composers features an extraordinary lineup: Anne GASTINEL, a leading cellist of the French school; Raphaela GROMES, a celebrated German cellist; Natalie CLEIN, a highly acclaimed British cellist; and Kristin von der GOLTZ, a distinguished German Baroque cello specialist. Their Taiwan debut will be complemented by Taiwanese pianists SHEN Yu-lin and LIAO Pei-chun, alongside German pianist Julian RIEM. From a female perspective, they will revive the exceptional works of 19th and 20th century women composers such as Fanny MENDELSSOHN, Rita STROHL, Henriette BOSMANS, and Rebecca CLARKE, shedding light on the cello’s forgotten gems.

10/5(Sun)19:30

For this grand finale, the Taiwan International Cello Festival presents an exhilarating ensemble performance featuring four internationally renowned female cellists—Anne GASTINEL, Raphaela GROMES, Natalie CLEIN, and Kristin VON DER GOLTZ—joined by the esteemed Switzerland-based cellist CHIEN Pi-chin, outstanding Taiwanese cellists OU YANG Ling-yi and Dai Lee-wen, as well as distinguished conductor HSU Ching-hsin, xiaoist Ren ZHONG, and rising jazz vocalist YenTing LO. Highlights include the world premiere of a cello octet adaptation of Karitas Habundat by Hildegard von BINGEN and DVOŘÁK's Symphony No. 8, a powerful rendition of Grażyna Bacewicz's Cello Quartet, and a chamber music tribute marking the 10th anniversary of Taiwanese composer MA Shui-long's passing.

  Program  

10/5(Sun)14:30

Fanny MENDELSSOHN: Fantasy in g minor for Cello and Piano

Rita STROHL: Great dramatic Sonata Titus et Bérénice for Cello and Piano

Henriëtte BOSMANS: Sonata for Cello and Piano

Rebecca CLARKE: Sonata for Cello and Piano

10/5(Sun)19:30

Fabian MÜLLER／Arr. Hildegard von BINGEN: Karitas Habundat for Voice and Cello Octet  (world premiere)

Grażyna BACEWICZ: Cello Quartet

【Sound of Taiwan】MA Shui-long: Idea and Image 

Fabian MÜLLER／Arr. A. DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 (World Premiere, Arrangement for Cello Octet)

  Creative and Production Team  

10/5(Sun)14:30

Founder & Artistic Director｜CHIEN Pi-chin

Artistic Co-Director｜Fabian MÜLLER

Cellist｜Anne GASTINEL, Raphaela GROMES, Natalie CLEIN, Kristin VON DER GOLTZ

Pianist｜SHEN Yu-lin, LIAO Pei-chun, Julian RIEM

10/5(Sun)19:30

Founder & Artistic Director｜CHIEN Pi-chin

Artistic Co-Director｜Fabian MÜLLER

Cellist｜Anne GASTINEL, Raphaela GROMES, Natalie CLEIN, CHIEN Pi-chin, Kristin VON DER GOLTZ, OU YANG Ling-yi, DAI Lee-wen,  CHENG Yi-chin

Pianist: SHEN Yu-lin, LIAO Pei-chun, Julian RIEM

Conductor｜HSU Ching-hsin

Xiaoist｜CHUNG Jen

Jazz Singer｜YenTing LO

  More  

10/6(Mon)10:00-14:00 Recital Hall
Cello Masterclass

10/6(Mon)14:30-16:15 Recital Hall
Moments of Resonance      

For more information, please visit the TWICF website.

  Artists Introduction  

Artistic Director, Cellist｜CHIEN Pi-chin

A sought-after, internationally active soloist and chamber musician. She has performed in major concert venues around the world. She appears as a soloist on recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra London and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra under the direction of David ZINMAN, Ruben GAZARIAN and CHIEN Wen-pin. CHIEN Pi-Chin has performed and recorded world premieres of a number of violoncello concertos and chamber music works, including several compositions dedicated to her. She is the artistic director of the "Swiss Music Night" concert series in Taiwan and of the Confluence Music Festival in Zurich, Switzerland.

Artistic Co-Director｜Fabian MÜLLER

Fabian MÜLLER is one of the leading Swiss composers of his generation. His works were premiered by great musicians of our time and were heard in the prestigious halls of the world and the Festivals. He was awarded the "Zollikon Art Prize," etc., and in 2021, his opera Eiger was premiered, based on a libretto by the Swiss writer Tim KROHN and commissioned by the Biel-Solothurn Theater in Switzerland. In addition to his work as a composer, he is interested in folk music. For ten years (1991-2002), he worked on the publication of the Hanny CHRISTEN Collection, a ten-volume folk music anthology with over 10,000 tunes from the 19th century.

Cellist｜Anne GASTINEL

Anne Gastinel won numerous prizes in major international competitions and began to perform throughout Europe. In 1997, she was chosen by Marta CASALS ISTOMIN to play the legendary Matteo Goffriller by Pablo CASALS for a year. Her career now takes her to the most beautiful halls on all continents, in recital, chamber music and alongside the greatest French and international orchestras. For almost fifteen years, her recordings have been crowned with the highest distinctions. Anne GASTINEL plays a Testore cello from 1690. She has been a professor at the CNSMD in Lyon since 2003, and at the Académie Jaroussky since 2022.

Cellist｜Raphaela GROMES

Born in 1991, Raphaela Gromes has been an exclusive artist with Sony Classical since 2016. Her albums have won a number of awards, such as German Record Critics,  the OPUS KLASSIK and the Diapason d’Or. Awards to her name include First Prize at both the 2012 Richard Strauss Competition and the 2016 Concorso Fiorindo Turin, as well as the German Music Competition Prize in the solo cello category. Raphaela GROMES celebrated her debut at such renowned festivals as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Jungfrau Music Festival Interlaken, etc. Furthermore, a number of cello concertos have already been dedicated to her. Raphaela GROMES plays a cello by Carlo Bergonzi dating from around 1740.

Cellist｜Natalie CLEIN

Described by The Times as "mesmerising" and "soaringly passionate," British cellist Natalie CLEIN has built a distinguished career, regularly performing at major venues and with orchestras worldwide. She was a judge in the 2018 BBC Young Musician competition, and performed in a special BBC Prom celebrating the 40th anniversary of the competition. At the age of 16, she won both the BBC Young Musician of the Year and the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians in Warsaw. As a student she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Scholarship by the Royal College of Music. She completed her studies with Heinrich SCHIFF in Vienna. Natalie is a Professor at the Royal College of Music London and Music Academy Rostock. She plays the "Simpson" Guadagnini cello of 1777.

Cellist｜Kristin VON DER GOLTZ

Kristin VON DER GOLTZ  has devoted herself to an intensive study of both the baroque and the modern cello. As a solocellist, chamber musician and artistic director of numerous concerts and ensemble projects, she is also in demand internationally as a teacher. With the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Berlin Baroque Soloist, she has recorded several CDs and undertaken concert tours around the world. From 2009 to 2011, she served as Principal Cellist with the Munich Chamber Orchestra. She was a regular guest conductor at the Barokkanerne Norwegian Baroque, the L’Accademia Giocosa as Artistic Director.  

Cellist｜OU YANG Ling-yi

Currently holding a cello full-time faculty position at Taiwan’s NTNU, Professor Ling-yi OU YANG is very much in demand as a teacher, and active in recording and concert performance throughout China and Taiwan. She has been invited to give concerts in China, the United States, France, and Italy. Prof. OU YANG has given masterclasses at conservatories and universities throughout Taiwan and China. She spends her summers performing and teaching at places like the International Music Academy in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana , and the Todi International Music Academy. She has been a jury member in the 14th Khachaturian International Competition in Armenia and the 7th National Youth Cello Competition in China.

Cellist｜DAI Lee-wen

DAI Lee-wen is now a full-time Professor at National Kaohsiung Normal University. She is also a faculty member at National Taiwan Normal University. Ms. DAI had served as principal cellist of the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra (1991–2014). DAI received both her bachelor's and master's degree in cello performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied with Prof. Laurien LAUFMAN and Nathaniel ROSEN. As an active cellist, DAI has appeared in many music festivals and her professional recital appearances had reached out to major cities in Europe, America, Japan, China and Taiwan, and performed as soloist with Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, Tainan City Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of NTNU and NKNU.

Cellist｜CHENG Yi-chin
CHENG Yi-chin is currently a full-time professor at University of Taipei. She has served as a professor at the Conservatoire de Lucé in France, the assistant principal cellist of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, and the associate principal cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. She holds a Diplôme de Concertiste from the École Normale de Musique de Paris and graduated with first prize from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. She has also been invited multiple times to perform at the "Asian Composers League Conference & Festival" in the Philippines, Korea, and Thailand. Additionally, she has given solo and chamber music performances in Austria, France, the Philippines, China, and Thailand.

Pianist｜SHEN Yu-lin

Born in Taiwan, SHEN Yu-lin trained under DANG Thai Son and later earned the Konzertexamen from Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. She is a distinguished pianist known for her exceptional technique, deep musicality, and captivating stage presence. Her recent highlights include performances with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic, and Beijing Symphony Orchestra. She has played at prestigious venues worldwide, including Konzerthaus Berlin, Mozarteum Salzburg, and Disney Hall. A winner of multiple international competitions, her 2014 album Scriabin Preludes was nominated for a Golden Melody Award in Taiwan.

Pianist｜LIAO Pei-chun

LIAO Pei-chun is an acclaimed pianist, celebrated as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She earned her Master's and Diploma in Performance Studies with Distinction from Birmingham Conservatoire and later obtained the prestigious Solistenexamen Diploma from Musikhochschule Freiburg. She has won major awards, including the Birmingham Conservatoire Piano Prize and Second Prize at the Mauro Paolo Monopoli International Piano Competition in Italy. Active in international music festivals, she frequently gives lectures, masterclasses, and serves as a judge for competitions. She is currently an associate professor of piano at the University of Taipei in Taiwan.

Pianist｜Julian RIEM

Julian RIEM, a Munich-born pianist, has won international competitions in Modena, Madrid, and Florence and received a Deutscher Musikwettbewerb scholarship. He studied under Michael SCHÄFER, Michel BÉROFF, and Rudolf BUCHBINDER. As a soloist and chamber musician, he performs at renowned venues like the Konzerthaus Vienna and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. His duo with cellist Raphaela GROMES has released award-winning Sony Classical albums, including the Opus Klassik-winning Offenbach. RIEM appears at major festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival and champions contemporary music. His extensive recordings highlight his passion for chamber music and artistic innovation.

Conductor｜HSU Ching-hsin

HSU Ching-hsin is a conductor born in Taiwan and resident of both Taiwan and the United States. HSU served as music director of the National Taiwan Normal University Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Springfield, Missouri. Her past appointments include serving as artistic director of The Women’s Philharmonic in San Francisco, California, and conductor of the Oregon Mozart Players in Eugene, Oregon. She has been a mentor for many young conductors on both sides of the world through her work at NTNU and at The Conductor's Institute at Bard College in New York. Her performances have been featured in national broadcasts in the United States, Taiwan, and Korea.

Xiao｜CHUNG Jen

CHUNG Jen, a flutist, composer, and pianist from Taipei, is a doctoral candidate at the National Taiwan University of Arts and music director of 3PEOPLEMUSIC. He is also Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Music Association and actively collaborates across disciplines, including theater and dance productions. His composition Night Thoughts was shortlisted for Best Composer at the 33rd Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music in Taiwan. With 3PEOPLEMUSIC, which he co-founded in 2013, their albums have received multiple Golden Melody Award nominations and wins. In 2024, 3PEOPLEMUSIC was invited as Taiwan's cultural representative at the Paris Olympics, further showcasing their innovative artistry.

Jazz Singer｜YenTing LO

YenTing LO is a jazz singer-songwriter, pianist, flutist, arranger and producer from Kaohsiung, Taiwan. A graduate of the Conservatory of Amsterdam specializing in jazz, YenTing's broad musical imagination and poetic lyrics earned her Golden Indie Music Awards in Best Jazz Album award for both of her albums Epiphyllum (2019) and The 13th Heron (2020). YenTing has performed widely in genres including pop, classical and musical theater on stages across Taiwan, as well as internationally in Japan, Sweden, The Netherlands, Spain and Italy. YenTing has been developing a videogame project derived from her songs called Off-Score, and has also just released a live session EP Land Forms.

Presenter: Swiss Music Night

Co-organiser: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)