Wen Yi-Jen
Encyclopedia
Wen Yi-jen is a Taiwanese
classical
conductor
. He is currently the Principal Guest Conductor of the National Theatre Belgrade.
, Taiwan
, Wen Yi-jen had his first piano
lessons at age six with his mother. He attended the National Taiwan University of Arts
, where he studied percussion and piano. He continued his studies at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien
and was awarded that institution’s prestigious diploma in operatic, orchestral and choral conducting. His concert performance of excerpts from Richard Strauss
's Der Rosenkavalier
for his diploma concert elicited praise. He later undertook post-graduate conducting studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. His professors included Reinhard Schwarz, Georg Mark, Kurt Richter
and Uros Lajovic
.
In Taipei, Wen worked as an assistant conductor with the tenor, Nicola Martinucci
, and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra
in a 1995 production of Aida
. During his student years in Vienna from 1998 to 2003, he performed in productions of Die Entführung aus dem Serail
, Così fan tutte
, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni
, Der Freischütz
, Fidelio
, Die Fledermaus
, Madame Butterfly, Turandot
, Tannhäuser
, Lohengrin
, et al.
As an assistant, his talent was recognized when he was chosen for the final concert at the inaugural “Leif Segerstam
Conducting Masterclass” in Germany in 2004. Maestro Leif Segerstam invited Mr. Wen to be his assistant for the premieres of Segerstam’s symphonies with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
of Russia
and the Bruckner Orchestra of Austria
.
with the renowned vocal artists Boiko Zvetanov
(as Rodolfo) and Zvetelina Vassileva (as Mimì) at the National Theatre in Belgrade
, he was immediately appointed Principal Guest Conductor. The operas he is scheduled to conduct during his tenure include: Salome
, Tosca
, La Traviata
, Don Carlo, Il Trovatore
, Rigoletto
and Carmen. In November 2006, he has been invited to guest conduct the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and will work with the soloist Emmanuel Pahud
, Principal Flautist of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
. For the 2007/08 season, Mr. Wen has also been invited as a guest conductor for the St. Petersburg Academic Symphony orchestra (St. Petersburg Shostakovich Philharmonic Orchestra).
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...
classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
. He is currently the Principal Guest Conductor of the National Theatre Belgrade.
Early studies
Born in TaipeiTaipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Wen Yi-jen had his first piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons at age six with his mother. He attended the National Taiwan University of Arts
National Taiwan University of Arts
National Taiwan University of Arts , established in 1955, is the oldest art university residing in Banqiao District, New Taipei, Republic of China .-External links:* *...
, where he studied percussion and piano. He continued his studies at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien
Konservatorium Wien
The Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität is a private music conservatory in Vienna, Austria established in 1938 as Musikschule der Stadt Wien.The school attained university status on June 15, 2005 as a private institution....
and was awarded that institution’s prestigious diploma in operatic, orchestral and choral conducting. His concert performance of excerpts from Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
for his diploma concert elicited praise. He later undertook post-graduate conducting studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. His professors included Reinhard Schwarz, Georg Mark, Kurt Richter
Kurt Richter
Kurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter was a German chess International Master and chess writer.- Chess achievements :...
and Uros Lajovic
Uroš Lajovic
-Education:Uroš Lajovic graduated composition and conducting from the Music Academy of Ljubljana and received his master’s degree at the Music Academy in Vienna where he studied under the tuition of Hans Swarowsky. Lajovic also attended master classes at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, where he...
.
In Taipei, Wen worked as an assistant conductor with the tenor, Nicola Martinucci
Nicola Martinucci
Nicola Martinucci in Taranto, Italy, is an Italian tenor.He has sung under the baton of some of the greatest conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Myung-Whun Chung, Sir Colin Davis, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Nello Santi and Giuseppe Sinopoli.Martinucci has sung most of the...
, and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra
Taipei Symphony Orchestra
The Taipei Symphony Orchestra , founded in 1969, is one of the leading orchestras based in Taipei, Taiwan.In these seasons, TSO works also with European Music directors and conductors, such as Reinhard Goebel, Martin Fischer-Dieskau or Maurice Steger.- Introduction :Under the direction of Felix...
in a 1995 production of Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
. During his student years in Vienna from 1998 to 2003, he performed in productions of Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
, Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
, Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
, Madame Butterfly, Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
, et al.
As an assistant, his talent was recognized when he was chosen for the final concert at the inaugural “Leif Segerstam
Leif Segerstam
Leif Segerstam is a Finnish conductor and composer.He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and conducting at the Juilliard School in New York with Jean Morel....
Conducting Masterclass” in Germany in 2004. Maestro Leif Segerstam invited Mr. Wen to be his assistant for the premieres of Segerstam’s symphonies with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1882 and is Russia's oldest symphony orchestra.It was initially known as the "Imperial Music Choir" and performed privately for the court of Alexander III of Russia. By the 1900s it had started to give public performances at the...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the Bruckner Orchestra of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
National Theatre of Belgrade
After Wen’s successful debut of La BohèmeLa bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
with the renowned vocal artists Boiko Zvetanov
Boiko Zvetanov
Boyko Tzvetanov is a Bulgarian operatic tenor. He studied at the Bulgarian Music Academy in his native city of Sofia with Professor Hadjiev and was taken on as a soloist with the Sofia National Opera as early as 1982....
(as Rodolfo) and Zvetelina Vassileva (as Mimì) at the National Theatre in Belgrade
National Theatre in Belgrade
The National Theatre was founded in the latter half of the 19th century. It is located on Republic Square, in Belgrade, Serbia.The National Theatre was declared a Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1983, and it is protected by the Republic of Serbia....
, he was immediately appointed Principal Guest Conductor. The operas he is scheduled to conduct during his tenure include: Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
, Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, Don Carlo, Il Trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
, Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
and Carmen. In November 2006, he has been invited to guest conduct the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and will work with the soloist Emmanuel Pahud
Emmanuel Pahud
Emmanuel Pahud is a Swiss flute player.He was born in Geneva, Switzerland. His father is of French and Swiss background and his mother is French. The Berlin-based flutist is most known for his baroque and classical flute repertory....
, Principal Flautist of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Philharmonic, German: , formerly Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester , is an orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. In 2006, a group of ten European media outlets voted the Berlin Philharmonic number three on a list of "top ten European Orchestras", after the Vienna Philharmonic and the...
. For the 2007/08 season, Mr. Wen has also been invited as a guest conductor for the St. Petersburg Academic Symphony orchestra (St. Petersburg Shostakovich Philharmonic Orchestra).
Conducted orchestras
- The National Theatre Belgrade (Serbia & Montenegro)
- Vienna Radio Symphony OrchestraVienna Radio Symphony OrchestraThe Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk . Founded in 1969 with the name of the ORF-Symphonieorchester , it is the only radio orchestra in the country...
(ORF, Austria) - Bruckner Symphony Orchestra (Linz, Austria)
- Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra (Germany)
- St. Petersburg Philharmonic OrchestraSt. Petersburg Philharmonic OrchestraThe Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1882 and is Russia's oldest symphony orchestra.It was initially known as the "Imperial Music Choir" and performed privately for the court of Alexander III of Russia. By the 1900s it had started to give public performances at the...
(Russia) - St. Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra (Russia)
- New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra (Japan)
- Evergreen Symphony OrchestraEvergreen Symphony OrchestraThe Evergreen Symphony Orchestra is a Taiwanese orchestra founded by Chang Yung-Fa Foundation of Evergreen Group in 2001. The orchestra is featured by bringing up talented Taiwanese players and promoting Taiwanese folk music...
(Taipei, Taiwan) - Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Vienna, Austria)