Taipei, May 15 (CNA) The popular 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic are scheduled to perform in Taiwan in July on the 40th anniversary of the founding of the ensemble, the local organizer said Tuesday.

The ensemble, founded in 1972, will give around 30 performances around the world this year, two of which will be held in Taiwan, said Chang Chen-chieh, a renowned Taiwanese cellist who invited the ensemble to Taiwan and organized the concerts.

One of the concerts will be held at the Kaohsiung Cultural Center July 4, while the other will take place at Taipei's National Concert Hall the following day. The repertoire will include classical, jazz, tango and avant-garde.

In a video conference with local media, Ludwig Quandt, principal cellist of both the ensemble and the German orchestra, who has performed in Taiwan in the past, said he looks forward to visiting the country again.

Quandt said the audiences at their performances in Taiwan tend to be young, unlike their usual audiences in Germany or other European countries, which is what attracts him the most to performing here.

Chang said the organizer has purposefully kept the ticket price low, starting at NT$300 (US$10.17), because they hope to make the concerts affordable for students and the general public.

The Taiwan branch of Deutsche Bank will also provide 55 special tickets for disadvantaged people, Chang said.

He said that he will visit the Taipei School for the Visually Impaired June 12, where he will give a free cello recital as a warm-up for the July performances.

The ensemble last visited Taiwan in 2010.

(By Christie Chen)
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