Taiwan Today

In view of the high cost of musical instruments, Chi Mei Museum has loaned more than 100 stringed instruments per year to Taiwan musicians since 2004. The museum has made the loans under the auspices of Hsu Wen-lung, founder of both Chi Mei Group and the museum. Not a few young talents are studying music abroad with Chi Mei instruments. They include Henry Tong, at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, England, who will perform in Taipei in October; Sirena Huang, gold medalist at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2009; cellist Pan Yi-tzu, 3rd prize winner in the 2008 International Brahms Cello Competition; and Tseng Yu-chien, who won this year’s Pablo Sarasate International Violin Competition. Most families of average means could afford a violin for a beginner, Tseng’s mother said. “But when you need a good violin of standard size, the price really goes up.” A violin may cost up to NT$4 million (US$123,600). Chi Mei’s conditions for instrument loans are generous, according to Chi Mei Museum’s violin consultant Chung Dai-ting. Taiwanese citizens who are going to give performances in Taiwan or participate in international competitions are eligible to borrow stringed instruments from Chi Mei. For those studying abroad, student certification will suffice. Chung said candidates passing review are charged nothing but a basic amount for insurance. The term of a loan is one year, and the insurance fee for the instrument is 0.3 percent of its current price. This means a borrower has to pay only around NT$12,000 a year for a violin worth NT$4 million. Demand for Chi Mei instruments has increased in recent years, Chung said, adding that it takes only about five days for a musician to get an instrument after passing review. He explained the museum usually offers four to eight instruments for a musician to try out before the one to be loaned is decided on, based on the music to be played and the musician’s previous instruments. The trials take place in the museum’s music hall. (PCT-THN)