Taiwan Philharmonic,

the National Symphony Orchestra

“...the Taiwan Philharmonic...almost entirely with Taiwanese players had a distinctive aural profile.” ─ Bachtrack, 2024

“…the Taiwan Philharmonic is accomplished and international, fit for any world-class concert hall.” ─ Musical America, 2023

“Culture represents the lifeline that upholds the national pride of Taiwan. I hope that the audience could sense the Taiwan of today so proudly expressed deep within the free and expansive sound of the NSO.”— MOSTLY CLASSIC, 2023

Founded in 1986, the Taiwan Philharmonic, also known as the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at home, has been hailed as one of the leading orchestras in Asia. With some of the finest musical talent from at home and abroad, trained at top schools and international orchestras, NSO enjoys a unique voice rich in diversity and tradition. NSO's artistic development has been carefully nurtured over the years by music directors Tsang-Houei Hsu, Tah-Sheng Chang, Jahja Ling, Wen-Pin Chien, and Shao-Chia Lü. Under the leadership of Jun Märkl as the music director since January 2022, the NSO continues to resonate throughout the world as the cultural ambassador of Taiwan. NSO extensively commissions, performs, and records music by Taiwanese composers.

As the orchestra affiliated with the National Performing Arts Center, the NSO presents a 40-week season of approximately 80 events - concerts, chamber recitals, operas, and crossover productions. Performing not only for audiences throughout Taiwan, the NSO also tours regularly overseas, having performed in such musical centers as Vienna, Berlin, Milan, Zurich, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Los Angeles, Chicago, and many other cities. Recent highlights include performances at Lincoln Center in New York City, John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

NSO has worked with internationally acclaimed conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Rudolf Barshai, Sir Neville Marriner, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Christopher Hogwood, Leonard Slatkin, and Osmo Vänskä; with singers Mirella Freni, Ileana Cotrubaș, Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Bryn Terfel, Thomas Hampson, Juan Diego Flórez, and Javier Camarena; with instrumental soloists Ivo Pogorelić, Daniil Trifonov, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gil Shaham, Leonidas Kavakos, Augustin Hadelich, Viktoria Mullova, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Rudolf Buchbinder, Sir Stephen Hough, Bruce Liu, Kyohei Sorita; and with composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Jörg Widmann, Qigang Chen, and Brett Dean.

In addition to producing Wagner's complete cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen in both 2006 and 2016-2019, NSO's operatic endeavors have extended to nearly 30 productions including Mozart's Don Giovanni; Wagner's Parsifal, Die Walküre, Verdi's Otello and Falstaff, Strauss's Salome and Der Rosenkavalier, and Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle. Members of the NSO present extensive programs of chamber music, often with prominent musicians-in-residence such as pianist Kun-Woo Paik; clarinetist and composer Jörg Widmann; violist Brett Dean, cellist Wen-Sinn Yang, violinists Ray Chen and Richard Lin, and horn player Radovan Vlatković, as well as with visiting groups and instrumentalists like the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Since 2023, NSO has invited violinist Paul Huang annually to curate the ”Paul Huang & Friends” International Chamber Music Festival. NSO has also worked with dance companies such as the Royal Ballet, the Kiev National Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet.

In addition to its performances in concert halls and opera houses, members of the NSO also offer musical events at nursing homes, mountain villages, and underprivileged communities all over Taiwan. NSO organizes over 100 outreach activities annually for more than 10,000 participants of all ages and all kinds of groups in Taiwan. The orchestra’s work at schools involves professional training, artistic participation, and cultural leadership, earning a young audience and demonstrating social responsibility exceptional for a symphony orchestra. In 2023, the NSO founded the National Symphony Youth Orchestra (NSYO) to cultivate the next generation of musicians in Taiwan. The youth orchestra has since toured overseas to Singapore, Thailand, Korea and Japan. Beginning in 2025, the NSYO and the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (JDPh) established a partnership, facilitating member exchange to build international experience and deepen cultural understanding between Taiwan and Germany.

As the orchestra affiliated with the National Performing Arts Center, the NSO presents a 40-week season of approximately 80 events - concerts, chamber recitals, operas, and crossover productions. Performing not only for audiences throughout Taiwan, the NSO also tours regularly overseas, having performed in such musical centers as Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Milan, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York City and many other cities.

The NSO has worked with internationally acclaimed conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Rudolf Barshai, Sir Neville Marriner, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Christopher Hogwood, Leonard Slatkin, and Osmo Vänskä; with singers Mirella Freni, Ileana Cotrubaș, Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Bryn Terfel, and Thomas Hampson; with instrumental soloists Ivo Pogorelić, Daniil Trifonov, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gil Shaham, and Leonidas Kavakos; and with composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Jörg Widmann, Qigang Chen, and Brett Dean.

In addition to producing Wagner's complete cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen in both 2006 and 2016, the NSO's operatic endeavors have extended to nearly 30 productions including Mozart's Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, and Così fan tutte; Wagner's Parsifal, Verdi's Otello and Falstaff, Puccini's Tosca, La bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Il trittico, Strauss's Salome and Der Rosenkavalier, and Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle. Crossover productions loved by audiences and praised by critics include the musical On the Road and Qian Yi's installation opera Paradise Interrupted. Members of the NSO present extensive programs of chamber music, often joining with prominent musicians in residence with the orchestra such as pianist Kun-Woo Paik; clarinetist, composer, and conductor Jörg Widmann; composer, violist, and conductor Brett Dean; and violinist Paul Huang, as well as with visiting groups and instrumentalists like the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, cellist Wen-Sinn Yang, violinists Ray Chen and Richard Lin, and horn player Radovan Vlatković. The NSO has also worked with dance companies such as the Royal Ballet, the Kiev National Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet.

In addition to its performances in concert halls and opera houses, members of the NSO also offer musical events at nursing homes, mountain villages, and underprivileged communities all over Taiwan. Mobilizing resources from private sectors, the NSO organizes over 100 outreach activities annually for more than 10,000 participants of all ages and all kinds of groups in Taiwan. Their work at schools goes beyond just professional training to include artistic participation and cultural leadership, earning them a young audience and demonstrating a social responsibility exceptional for a classical orchestra.

In 2023, the NSO founded the National Symphony Youth Orchestra (NSYO) to cultivate the next generation of musicians in Taiwan. The youth orchestra has since toured overseas to Singapore, Thailand, Korea and Japan. Beginning in 2025, the NSYO and the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (JDPh) established a partnership, facilitating member exchange to build international experience and deepen cultural understanding between Taiwan and Germany.