Ko Fan-long (; born 1947) is a Taiwanese composer. He is a professor of composition at the

National Taiwan Normal University National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) is a National university, national comprehensive university in Taipei and New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university enrolls approximately 17,000 students each year. Approximately 1,600 students are Intern ...

(NTNU) in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. (Ko's family name is pronounced "Kuh", as in the English word ''cup''.)

Life and career

Ko, a native of

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

, is himself a graduate of NTNU. In 1980 he enrolled at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

(

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) where he studied composition with F. M. Beyer. He joined the NTNU faculty upon his return to Taiwan in 1985. In 2002 he received Taiwan's prestigious Wan San-Lien Music Award. From 2004 to 2008 he served as chair of the NTNU Department of Music. Ko's compositions display a cosmopolitan blend of

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an and

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n timbres and techniques. He often calls upon performers to switch concepts within a single piece, sounding first like an instrument from nineteenth-century

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and the next like an instrument from ancient

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. Compositions by Ko that have drawn particular acclaim include the ''Quintet II'' (1992) for chamber ensemble, ''The Crying Mermaid'' (1993) for orchestra, the imposing three-movement ''Dream of the Year 2000'' for chorus and orchestra, and ''Overture to Taiwan's New Century'' (2003) for orchestra. In 2004 three of his major orchestral works—the symphony ''Dream of the Year 2000'', the overture ''Taiwan's New Century'' and ''The Crying Mermaid''—were featured in an NTNU tour program entitled ''Rondo Capriccio''. The works were performed by Apo Hsu conducting the NTNU Symphony Orchestra. In 2007 the three works were featured again in the orchestra's

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

tour program entitled ''Formosa Dreaming''. The works were performed by Apo Hsu conducting the NTNU Symphony Orchestra and Formosa Festival Choir prepared by Huang Tsui-yu. The tour program also featured the music of Taiwan composer

Tyzen Hsiao Tyzen Hsiao (; 1 January 1938 – 24 February 2015) was a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese composer of the neo-Romantic school. Many of his vocal works set poems written in Taiwanese Hokkien, the mother tongue of the majority of the island's res ...

and included four soloists: Hsieh Meng-chieh (soprano), Yü Lee (alto), Lin Chung-chi (tenor), and Chang Yu-hsin (bass). The premier of Ko's ''2-28 Requiem'' took place soon after, in April 2008. This performance was also by Apo Hsu and the NTNU Symphony, In 2008 Ko observed that "Taiwanese poems are elegant and boast unique intonation." His current interest, he announced, lies in composing "grand works that combine Taiwanese song with Western orchestration" that "integrate the orchestral sonority with Taiwanese native features."

Works

*1971 ''Sacrificial Ceremony'' for violin and piano *1972 ''

Chang'e Chang'e ( ; ), originally known as Heng'e (), is the goddess of the Moon and wife of Hou Yi, the great archer. Renowned for her beauty, Chang'e is also known for her ascending to the Moon with her pet Yu Tu, the Moon Rabbit and living in the Mo ...

as a

Rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

'' for solo piano *1973 Duet for

Clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

and Piano *1974 ''Ripples in Ma-Zu'' for solo piano *1980 ''Change'' for cello and piano *1981 Trio for Oboe, Violoncello and Piano *1982 ''Growth and Decline of Five Elements'' for four cellos *1982 Sextet for Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Violin and Violoncello *1983 Septet for Flute, Clarinet, Strings and Percussion *1984 String Quartet no. 1 *1984 ''Sedan Chair of the Gods'' for full orchestra *1985 Duet for Oboe and Violoncello *1986 ''Sedan Chair for a Wedding'' for flute, oboe, horn, violin, cello and piano *1988 ''Mend the Torn Silk'' for chorus *1992 ''Quintet II'' for violin, cello, flute, trombone, and percussion *1993 ''The Crying

Mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

'' for orchestra *1994 ''Four

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

Ballads'' for clarinet, violin, cello and piano *1996 ''First Time'' (Taiwanese song) *1997 ''Sacrifice'' for

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

*1998 ''Artistic Conception'' for solo piano *1999 ''Formosa'' String Quartet no. 2 *2000 ''Dream of the Year 2000'', a three-movement

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

for chorus and orchestra *2000 ''Love Story'' for seven bassoons *2001 ''When the

Bugle The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...

Calls'' for trumpet and four horns *2002 ''Taiwanese Folk Song Suite'' for strings *2003 ''

Water Lantern A water lantern is a type of lamp that floats on the surface of the water. It is also known as a floating lamp, river lamp or lake lamp, depending on the water body on which it is floated. The water lantern originated in India and later spread t ...

February 28 Events Pre-1600 *202 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty. * 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople (Roman Catholic), Fourth Council of Co ...

'' (Taiwanese song) *2003 ''Overture to Taiwan's New Century'' for full orchestra *2008 ''2-28

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

'' (text by Li Kuei-Hsien)

Recordings

Video

*''2-28 Requiem'' (2008). 1 DVD. Concert given 7 April 2008 by Apo Ching-Hsin Hsu conducting the

Symphony Orchestra with Chorus and Soloists. National Taiwan Normal University. * ''Formosa Dreaming'' (2007). 1 DVD. Concert given 9 September 2007 by Apo Ching-Hsin Hsu conducting the

Symphony Orchestra and Formosa Festival Chorus. Soprano: Meng-Chieh Hsieh. Alto: Yü Lee. Tenor: Ying-Tung Hsieh. Bass: Yu-Hsin Chang. Venue: San Gabriel Civic Auditorium,

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. Repertoire by Ko includes ''Overture to Taiwan's New Century'', ''The Weeping Mermaid'', and ''Dream of the Year 2000''. The program also features music by

. Tyzen Hsiao Music Association with National Taiwan Normal University.

Sources

*Ko, printed comments, ''2-28 Requiem'' concert program and DVD insert. National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, 2008-04-07. (Source of quote) *Printed program, ''Formosa Dreaming'', Taiwan International Culture Association, Taipei, 2007-09-04. (Source of biographical data and repertory list)

External links