Department of Cultural Affairs

By Gloria Cho
Staff Writer

During his inauguration as the first-ever Chief Conductor of the Taipei Chinese Orchestra (TCO) January 8, Chunquan Qu expressed his hope to refine traditional Chinese music through his role.

"Traditional Chinese music requires further improvement in terms of elaboration and artistry," Qu told reporters during a press conference the same day. "Orchestras in the line should stop being satisfaction with what they have done and get out of their comfort zone to win more approval from the general public," said Qu.

As a first-rated conductor and composer in China, Qu is one of the most famous and most popular musicians today. He embarked on his career at an early age in 1956, joining the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra as an Erhu player. Now in his seventies, Qu settled down in Taiwan 15 years ago and dedicated himself to the preservation and creation of local traditional music.

Liou Wei-gong, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs for Taipei City, welcomed Qu by noting that "his talents will be a great help in providing better quality music for our citizens to enjoy." 

Having cooperated with the TCO during the past years, Qu approves the orchestra's ambition to achieve a breakthrough in the form despite differences in opinion that have risen as a result.

Qu's acceptance of the position will help to mend one drawback that the TCO had faced, commented TCO General Director Chung Yiu-kwong the same day. In response, the newly-installed conductor said he would to exert his full strength to fulfill his role in the orchestra.

A legacy shared by Chinese-speaking circles everywhere, traditional Chinese music has seen a blurring in the distinctions between regional forms as time passes, observes Qu. "Now the major characteristics lie in the tunes themselves," the conductor points out.

Talking about the plight facing the music genre today, Qu says that one problem is the lack of specialized composers, a point which has meant few new works in the field. He goes on to say that musicians who are not sufficiently versed in traditional Chinese music may end up with only a superficial understanding of the subject.

This year, Qu will perform 12 concerts with the TCO, including a tour to China in September. The first concert will open the Taipei Traditional Arts Festival this year with a highlight on different areas of Taipei city.