Taipei Symphony Orchestra TSO
Founded in 1969, through decades of growth and transformation Taipei Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has honed an ensemble of exceptional artistic and technical accomplishment. Our mission is to use music as a medium of connection to share the finest sounds of Taipei with the rest of the world.
Since our founding, TSO has collaborated with many internationally renowned artists, including sopranos Angela Gheorghiu, tenor Jonas Kaufmann, violinists Pinchas Zukerman, Christian Tetzlaff, and Maxim Vengerov, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinettist Sabine Meyer, pianist Eric Lu, and composers Tan Dun, Alexandre Desplat, and Nico Muhly. Under the leadership of distinguished conductors such as Felix Chiu-Sen Chen, András Ligeti, and Gilbert Varga, the orchestra has steadily reached new artistic heights.
From 2019 to 2022, internationally acclaimed maestro Eliahu Inbal served as Principal Conductor and since 2023 he has held the title of Conductor Laureate. His profound musical insight and artistic vision have left a lasting mark on the orchestra. In 2026, renowned German conductor Alexander Liebreich assumed the position of Principal Conductor to lead the TSO into a new era of artistic achievement.
In 1979, TSO launched the Taipei Music Festival, whose opera productions have become its most celebrated feature. To date, the orchestra has staged nearly fifty classic operas, establishing the festival as a major event for opera enthusiasts and an important milestone in the history of Western opera in Taiwan. In addition to our performances at home, the orchestra regularly undertakes international tours and has appeared in more than forty cities around the world. As a musical ambassador for Taipei, we play an important role in promoting the city’s cultural diplomacy.
TSO is also deeply committed to music education, each year presenting over twenty concerts as part of the Arts Education for All programme, which introduces fifth-grade students to symphonic music in what has become one of Taipei’s most eagerly anticipated annual cultural events for schoolchildren.
To nurture the next generation of musicians, bring music closer to the public, and broaden our social impact, TSO set up the TSO Youth Orchestra. Guided by a mission of music outreach, we participate in programmes ranging from Culture in the Alley, Music in Schools, and open-air concerts to dedicated outreach concert series that bring music into local neighborhoods, schools, and every corner of the city. In so doing, we ensure that music is not confined to the concert hall but becomes a vibrant part of everyday life.
TSO brings together musicians of outstanding artistry and refined skill. Building on this wealth of musical talent, the orchestra remains committed to pursuing the highest artistic standards. Following the release in 2021 and 2023 of live recordings conducted by Eliahu Inbal featuring symphonies by Beethoven, Bruckner, and Brahms, in 2026 TSO will release a transnational recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, bringing our artistry to audiences throughout the international classical music community.
With more than fifty years of history and a distinguished record of artistic achievement, TSO looks to the future with the planned Taipei Concert Hall, which will become our permanent home. Combining superb musicianship with digital technology, innovation, and forward-looking ideas, TSO is committed to creating ever richer and more inspiring musical experiences for audiences.
Photo Credit: 鄭達敬