The genesis of Taiwanese piano art: historical and cultural context
Authors: Nataliia Sun 
Published: January 2023

Introduction. The article examines the origins of Taiwanese piano art, its evolution, the influence of national and numerous non-national musical traditions. Until today, no special study devoted to the general panorama of these important processes has been created. The general picture of the formation and development of Taiwanese musical culture in the context of the political, economic and social situation is considered. The purpose of the article is to highlight the origins of Taiwanese piano art, which influenced its evolution, the process of introducing national and numerous non-national elements at the main stages of its formation and development. With the help of analytical, historical, comparative, interdisciplinary methods of research, a number of tasks are solved: the role of Western Christian missionaries in the development of musical education and piano art on the island is determined, the reasons why the Western classical music was accepted by the local society, the questions about the founders of the system of Western of classical music education, the programs and forms of learning in the first music schools in Taiwan, the names of the first Taiwanese composers-pianists are clarified; а periodization of the development of piano art in Taiwan is proposed. Results. The most important historical stages of the formation and development of Taiwanese piano art can be considered: – the period of its creation from the end of the 16th century to 1894; – the period of Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945; – the period of development of national self-awareness, 1946–1986; – the period of reunification with mainland China from 1987. The proposed periodization makes it possible to reveal the entire historical and cultural context of the existence of piano art in Taiwan, to project its genetic settings for further stages of its development. Its basis was national folklore, but since the middle of the 16th century, the island was visited by Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and Canadian colonists, and the first contacts of Western music with the indigenous population of Taiwan were made thanks to the activities of Western missionaries and were subordinated mainly to religious purposes. The stage of Japanese colonial rule was important for the development of piano art on the island. Due to the influence of Japan, Taiwanese musicians had further opportunities to join the system of Western classical music education, as the Japanese government was helping Taiwanese youth to obtain it. After 1920, Western classical music becomes popular in Taiwan; the formation of composer creativity in the field of piano music also takes place – the activities of such Taiwanese composers and pianists as Chiang Wen-Yeh, Chen Sizhi, Kuo Chih-Yuan, Kao Tzu-Mei and others. In the years 1946–1986, we observe the further development of performing and teaching activities at the island, a bright burst of creativity by such composers as Chang-Hui Hsu, Hsiao Tyzen, Shui-Long Ma and others. After 1987, active musical contacts between China and Taiwan contribute to the further progress of the island’s piano art. The piano works of Taiwanese composers Shih-Hui Chen, Fan-Ling Su, Chien-Yu Huang and others are widely popularized. In recent decades, the performing activities of Taiwanese pianists, represented in the international space by the names of Chien-Yu Huang, Yi Chih Lu, Chiu Tze Lin and many others, have become very active. Today, the piano art of Taiwan is the most important part of not only Chinese, but also world music culture. Conclusions. The study of the origins of the piano art of Taiwan, the periods of its development, ways of refracting different musical traditions will help to understand both the historical-theoretical and aesthetic-pedagogical and artistic significance of this phenomenon in musical art. The most important events in the social and cultural life of Taiwan, since the end of the 16th century, indirectly affected the development of national piano art, which underwent qualitative changes connected with the emergence of new musical forms and means of expression, the methods of using the national and Western compositional techniques. The prospect of further study of the topic consists in a more detailed study of the modern stage of developing piano art in Taiwan and clarifying the influence of its extensive genetic roots on the compositional and performing creativity of representatives of Taiwanese musical culture.