Taiwan Church Press 3288 Edition March 2 - 8, 2015 Headline News Taiwan's Rachmaninoff, Prof. Siau Thâi-jiân, Passed Away On February 24th 2015 Reported by Lin Yi-ying and Chen Yi-hsuan Outstanding classic musics composer,Siau Thâi-jiân, known as "Taiwan's Rachmaninoff", passed away at the age of 78 in his Los Angeles' residence at 9:10 a.m. on February 24. As Siau's son, Joseph, posted the message on Facebook: "My Father, is now in heaven today as of 9:10 am. No more pain and suffering." In order to pay a tribute and commemoration toSiau Thâi-jiân, two musical concerts are promptly held at Tong-men Presbyterian Church of Chaiyi and Taipei respectively on February 28 and March 7. A farewell memorial service will also be held atEvangelical Formosan Church inLos Angeleson March 14. Born in Fon-shan town of Kaohsiung area on January 1st 1938,Siau Thâi-jiân starts his career early in musics through the enlightenment of his pianist mother. At the age of 7, he had performed on the stage. Siau's father, a physician graduated from Japan's medical school, originally wished Siau to succeed his business, yet persuaded by the Principal of Chang Jung High School - Mr Dai Ming-fu, Siau entered Taiwan Provincial Normal Institute to study musics in 1959. In 1965, after college graduation, Siau was allowed to enter Japan's famous musical college, Musashino Academia Musicae, studying piano under Prof. Nakane Nobue. As Siau's musical talents was admired by Prof. Fujimoto Hideo, a harmonics professor, he was granted a chance to learn the art of composition for free from Prof. Hideo. In 1967, when he returned to Taiwan, Siau married his wife, Kao Jen-chu, who was one of the descendants of Kao Chang, the famous Presbyterian evangelical pastor in 19th century Taiwan. Since 1967, Siau's teaching careers in musics started to blossom. In 1971, he composed the opera Jesus Christ with the libretto by his father, the Elder Siau Ray-an. Siau confessed in the preface of this opera: " ...this musical piece is not only his forever respect and remembrance toward his father, but also a confessional faith to God and a present of thanksgiving". Siau was appointed Professor at National Taiwan Normal University in 1973. In 1977, due to the failure of his wife's business, Siau relocated to the United States as a father of four children. And this would be an 18 years' stay. Initially, depressed and homesick, Siau composed nothing when he stayed in Atlanta for his first year. Things changed and his musical creativity awakened, when he did his occasional piano playing in a gift shop for his own entertainment, an old lady took time to listen and said: "Young man! You are so talented. Why are you here?" This question took Siau back into the musics composition. Since then, Siau got back to musical school and started re-editing many Taiwanese folk songs, like "Longing for the Spring Breeze", "Taiwan Melody", "Hometown At The Sunset" and "Once Upon A Time - Old Melody in Hen-chun "; composing many new folk songs, like "Out Travelers", "Love Taiwan" and "The Prodigal Son". In 1980, after Siau composed the very fashionable folk song of "March For Democracy", he was enlisted by KMT in the black name-list, inhibiting him to return Taiwan until 1995. From 1993, Siau started to compose his most renown 1947 Overture. But, due to a serious rupture of cardiovascular aortic aneurysm, Siau was forced to stop his composition without knowing if this important piece could be finished or not. Thanks for God's amazing grace, Siau recovered in 1994 and completed this historic overture for Taiwan. It is said that the characteristics ofSiau Thâi-jiân's musics is "[his efforts] to use the spirit of Taiwanese folk melody as the core and melt it into the classic, romantic, impressionistic and modern styles of music to form the basis for the neo-Taiwanese music style." Witnessing so many wonderful musical pieces being composed and bequeathed to Taiwan, be it 1947 Overture,Taiwan the Green and etc, we cannot help but pay our utmost tribute to Siau Thâi-jiân! Translated by Peter Wolfe |