Jun Märkl, Jennifer Johnston & NSO
This section contains events that exceed the display area. You can use the up and down arrow keys of the keyboard or the mouse wheel to browse.
PROGRAM
Ching-Tzu Chen: The Loom (One-minute Symphony Project, world premiere 2.0) *This project is cooperated by TSMC, NSO, and TNUA
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D minor
INFO
During the composition of his Symphony No. 3, Mahler famously said, "A symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything." This world is not just musical; it is deeply inspired by the natural world. In this symphony, Mahler weaves not only sweeping, awe-inspiring sounds but also abundant imagery drawn from nature. He even proudly declared: "The world has never yet heard." In nearly 100 minutes of music, Mahler unfolds an unprecedented narrative across six movements, drawing from Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra and the folk poem collection The Youth's Magic Horn (Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder), offering his own philosophy of the universe and life.
Under the baton of Music Director Jun Märkl, the Taipei Philharmonic Chorus, joined by British mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston, will scale the heights of Mahler's monumental work, bringing this extraordinary symphonic journey to life.
ARTISTS
This section contains musicians that exceed the display area. You can use the up and down arrow keys of the keyboard or the mouse wheel to browse.
Jun Märkl, conductor
Jennifer Johnston, mezzo-soprano
Taipei Philharmonic Chorus
National Symphony Orchestra
conductor／Jun Märkl
Jun Märkl is a highly respected interpreter of the core German repertory, and has become known for his refined and idiomatic explorations of the French Impressionists. He currently serves as Music Director of the Taiwan Philharmonic (the National Symphony Orchestra), he has been appointed Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and is the newly appointed Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest Den Hague, Netherlands. He serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Oregon Symphony.
Märkl's expertise in the world of opera and long historical relationships with the state operas of Vienna, Berlin, Munich, the Semperoper Dresden, the Metropolitan Opera of New York, San Francisco Opera and New National Theatre in Tokyo have been complemented over the past many decades by his orchestral music directorships of the Orchestre National de Lyon, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Basque National Orchestra, and the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra.
Märkl regularly guest conducts the leading orchestras of North America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe and has conducted many of the world's most prestigious orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, NHK Tokyo, and many others. Mr. Märkl also has an extensive discography of more than 60 recordings.
In recognition of his achievements in France, he was honored in 2012 with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
He studied in Munich with Sergiu Celibidache, at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa.
Mr. Märkl is highly dedicated to work with young musicians: for many years he worked as Principal Conductor at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. He teaches as a Guest Professor at the Kunitachi College of Music Tokyo and he recently founded the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.
mezzo-soprano／Jennifer Johnston
Esteemed mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston is recognized as one of the most important voices of her generation and celebrated for her performances of works by Mahler, Wagner, Britten, Beethoven, Schumann, and Elgar, among others. She was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society's Singer Award in 2021 in recognition of her "commitment and emotional force" to both performance and education.
Johnston's formidable reputation as a preeminent interpreter of Mahler is reflected in a 2024/25 season which features his works prominently. Jennifer sings Mahler's Symphony No.8 with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä, Prague Philharmonic Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, Bremer Philharmoniker under Marko Letonja, and with London Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner; Mahler's Symphony No.3 with Cleveland Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä and with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Domingo Hindoyan; Mahler's Symphony No.2 with Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège under Gergely Madaras; and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra under Juraj Valčuha. Other highlights include Haydn's Nelson Mass with BBC Symphony Orchestra under Hannu Lintu, Beethoven's Symphony No.9 with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Kazuki Yamada, and Mendelssohn's Lobgesang with Sinfonieorchester Basel under Ivor Bolton.