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Friday, April 6, 2012

The China Post

In March, Austrian-Taiwanese pianist RueibinChen (陳瑞斌) and three young pianists with

physical disabilities — Chen Bo-rong (陳柏榮),

Gu Yong-kai (顧永鍇) and Zhang Yan-sheng(張晏晟) — presented two “Rueibin Chen &Friends” (愛與陽光音樂會) concerts in Tainanand Taipei, assisted by Chen’s colleagues andthe Motech Culture and Art Foundation (茂迪文化藝術基金會). The China Post caught up withChen ater the event.

How did the concerts turn out?

The audience was touched but thought itwas too brie. They wanted more. Some criedwhile others held back their tears. Collaborat-ing with the students went smoother than Iexpected. One student is autistic while the other

two are blind. With the autistic student, wehad diculty communicating through words;I used simple, direct instructions like “OK” or“not OK.” But through music we had somethingin common. The blind students memorized thewhole score, not only their parts but also mypart. Rehearsing together was more complicat-ed than I thought but we ound a way to avoidbumping into each others’ hands.

Do you think of anything before going on stage?  

Nothing really. You’re almost onstage! Whatelse can you think o?

 You must always be in peak conditionbeore going on stage, because one cannotwarm up backstage. You play right away whenyou get on. It is cruel but the audience won’tsympathize.

How did you get onto the pianist’s path?

I went abroad to study as a child. I studied

the piano at my ather’s behest, and did notenjoy practicing much. Every child in my amilycompeted in music as my ather wished. Therewas a piano in the household when I was born,purchased not or me but or my uncle. Pianoswere rare in southern Taiwan at that time;ather got it third-hand. I learned to play by rec-ognizing the patterns on the ivory keys ormeddue to humidity, but the pianos I played on in

competitions elsewhere had pristine white keys.I practiced on the amily piano until successullyauditioning to study in Vienna.

I accompanied a choir everyday or twoyears, and then went abroad ater a year or soo junior high. Back then the Ministry o Educa-tion (教育部) still had prodigy ev aluations, whichgave me not unding but a student passport,which allowed me to visit my amily in Taiwanwithout being drated into the military.

How did studying abroad change you?

I actually did not practice that much in Vienna.Even to this day I enjoy listening to music more

than practicing. There were so many art eventsin Vienna, more than what you can take in.My [classmates there] kept on reminding me topractice.

 Almost 30 years later my dad still has notvisited Vienna, but we keep in touch over thephone.

Who else has influenced you in life?

My late teacher Lazar Berman [1930-2005].Beyond music, he told me about real-lie experi-ences o his coming rom Russia to the West, aswell as about the dark side o the classical mu-sic industry. It is practically a maa world; to bein the industry and not use the maa approachis very dicult. Sometimes musicality ends upbeing entirely sidelined. ■

► Next, Chen is flying to Los Angeles toplay an outdoor concert series. He is alsobeing featured by writer Wu Jie in ‘TaiwanZan’ (台灣讚 ), a book about Taiwa n’s tal-

ents and beautiful places.

“The Taiwan Oyster” (台灣牡蠣) is a airytaleset at the turn o the millennium where everyoreigner teaches kindergarten and cures home-sickness through wanton drinking and firting.Sound amiliar?

Every era has its great chronicler, an indi-vidual who captures the bonhomie o the timesand the spirit o its major characters. Thoughfawed and entirely incomplete, director Mark

Jarrett has taken astrong swing or theences.

It shouldn’tcome as a surprisethat the two pro-

tagonists in the lm, Darrin andSimon, are modeled ater real expats living inTaiwan today. I you knew director Mark Jarrettduring his two years in Taiwan (1999-2001) thecharacters are easily identiable.

 While it’s easy to make a lm about expatsriding around on motorcycles and drinkingbeers on the side o the road, it’s darn hard toturn this middling material into something thatis watchable.

Jarrett inuses his cast o mists with a plotthat allows them to travel and cavort in as manypicturesque parts o the island as possible. Healso does it with a darn good soundtrack thatruns the gamut rom country songs to chantsrom indigenous Taiwanese.

Local audiences can easily identiy with theprotagonists. Simon is the sort o expat who is

moody and introverted while Darrin is open toanything and wants to jump rom one pleasureto the next.

In the middle there is Nikita, a local girl they just picked up, who quickly alls or Simon, andsees through his melancholy and sadness. Sheexposes hersel, inviting the duo to meet herdisapproving ather. All would be lost i not orthe uncles, who relish the chance to drink withthese oreigners.

 Again, this is easily believable, and wellportrayed as Jarrett does a nice job o capturingTaiwan’s celebrated riendliness. He also doesa nice job o catching conversations held in thekitchen and other tender conessions.

One would like to see more rom the otherexpats in the lm, many o whom are simplycontent to live their middling lives with littleinspiration. They either sit on the side o theroad regaling bored passers-by with tall tales, ororganize poorly attended beach parties wherethe main point is the consumption o drugs.

 Again, a trip to Shita Road on any weekendnight will reveal many o these types o oreign-

ers, and perhaps this is a good reason to seethis lm or otherwise avoid it i it hits too closeto home.

The best lms encapsulate the periodo time, or or the lack o a better word the“scene,” that they are a part o. This is what“The Taiwan Oyster” seeks to accomplish, andthough the lm may yield no answers, not evena bottom to bottom out to, it seeks more o adream than a story.

The act that much o the lm is real and hasbeen lived should be a testament to this lm’swill and bravado. It indeed may signiy the nextera o lmmaking, when onscreen plots are notcredible or worthy unless they have been trulylived and are truly believable. ■

‘The Taiwan Oyster’ (台灣牡蠣 ) ► Releasedon April 15 (Sun.) / Urban Nomad Film

Festival (城市遊牧影展 ) / Huas han Crea-tive Park (華山1914文創園區 ) / No. 1 Sec.1 Bade Rd., Taipei City (台北市中正區八德路一段1號 ) / At t he Door NT $220, Adva nce

NT$170 / www.huashan1914.com

‘Mirror Mirror’ flcts a nw Snow Wht

PMovies | P. 3

Interview

B y Lin y utingThe China Post

Movie Preview

B y Sean ScanLan Special to The China Post

The Austrian-Taiwanese pianist discusses his art, studies and people who influenced him the most 

‘Taiwan Oyster’ oracle 

 A mong the hundreds o exhibits heldeach year at Taipei Fine Arts Museum(台北市立美術館), “Time Games: Con-temporary Appropriations o the Past”

(臺灣當代‧玩古喻今), by renowned Taiwanese

calligrapher Tong Yang-tze (董陽孜), is oneo the most interactive.

 A ew weeks ater its opening, popularsinger Cheer Chen (陳綺貞) has made herown contribution to the project, titled “Silent

Music” (無聲的樂章), which will be ollowedby architect Eric Yao’s (姚仁祿) input in May.Presented in a relay race ashion, “Silent

Music” seems to echo well with the theme o “appropriation.” As or Tong, the 70-year-old calligrapher who is best known or her

reinventions o Chinese calligraphytraditions through cross disciplinaryinteractions, this is another oppor-tunity to raise awareness o her artto better preserve it.

“All these years I’ve commit-ted mysel to the art o calligraphy;but, I’ve see its status declining inour society day by day, and I amconcerned about it,” Tong said onTuesday.

“I provide my works to artistso dierent circles and generationsand let them play with them, as myonly wish is to preserve the art o calligraphy,” she stressed.

Tong has already collaboratedwith a long list o celebrities, suchas Mandopop musician Jay Chou

(周杰倫), Mayday’s (五月天) rontman, A-hsin (阿信), and contempo-rary dance theater Cloud Gate (雲

門舞集). This time, she ocuses on the tempoand rhythms in her fowing calligraphic lines,while Chen and Yao are joining her to createsome “silent music.”

 With no more than 24 art works out o Tong’s 100 pieces o brush strokes on Xuanpaper (宣紙) rom her “Ink Blot Series” (點墨系列), Chen and Yao made their own installa-tions.

“I think beauty lies in the orm o order,harmony and surprises. And I tried to insertwhat’s bewitching in the music into the workI made with master Tong,” said Chen on

Tuesday, who admitted to be more nervoustalking about art than singing in a concert.

“When I made my picks, I stood on a

chair and looked at all the pieces rom adistance. The time it took equals the short-est time I spent on writing a song, around 15minutes,” she added.

Behind her selection o 14 pieces is ared wall, which corresponds to Chen’s rstimpression ater meeting with Tong. “Redsignies persistence and no compromise, justlike her nonstop motivation to create.”

 As or Yao, who ound hi s inspirat ion ina quotation rom Einstein, he will show hisoriginal work starting in May. The quotationreads: “I I were not a physicist, I would be

a musician. I oten think in music. I live mydaydreams in music. I see my lie in terms o music … I get most joy in lie out o music.” ■

‘Time Games: Contemporary Appropriations of thePast’ (臺灣當代‧玩古喻今 )►From now until June10 (Sun.) / Taipei Fine Arts Museum (台北市立美術館 ) / No. 181 Sec. 3 Zhongshan N. Rd., Taipei (臺北

市10461中山北路三段181號 ) / NT$30 / www.tfam.museum

Calligrapher Tong Yang-tze, singer Cheer Chen and 

architect Eric Yao join hands to reproduce the music 

they hear from calligraphy 

Listening to

‘silent music’ 

Exhibition

B y t  ang HSiang- yiThe China Post

One would like to see more from the other expats in the film, many of whom are simply content to live their middling lives with little inspiration 

 Rueibin Chen — a reluctant artist

Tong Yang-tze (center), Eric Yao (left), and Cheer Chen worked on “SilentMusic,” which showcases their creations in a relay race fashion.

Wang Chien-yu, The China Post

Rueibin Chen is an introspective yet expressive concert

pianist who splits his time among many countries.

Wang Chien-yu, The China Post

(Above) Singer Cheer Chen selected 24 calligraphies

from artist Tong Yang-tze for an installation, “Silent

Music,” on display at Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

  Wang Chien-yu, The China Post

 Taipei Beasts

K orean boy band Beast delighted the thou-sands o screaming ans rom all across Asia

who attended their “Beautiul Show” in Taipeion March 31. The perormance was part o theband’s new tour across 17 cities in 12 countriesacross Asia, the U.S., Europe and South Arica.The six-member boy band, ormed in 2009, hasso ar released one ull-length and ve mini-albums in Korean, as well as one album andseveral singles in Japanese. ■

Wang Chien-yu, The China Post