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Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 10th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2007> The Goddess of Piano ─ Anna Teng
Rather marry to music. Gather new blood in music
      Internationally acclaimed Japanese pianist professor Anna Teng was once the first choice for the Japanese Crown Princess, but her ideal love is music. She chose to play music, to grow the seedlings of music and eventually chose to marry to Taiwan’s well-known musician professor Teng Chang-kuo, and has founded Oriental Art College, Teachers’ Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, TTV Symphony Orchestra, Composers’ Forum, Taipei Music and Frederic Chopin Foundation Taipei, etc. For over 42 years, she performed in thousands of concerts on the international stage to promote music and has nourished more than a hundred young pianists including Chen Kuan-yu, Chen Ying-rui and Li Ying-hsuan. She received the Golden Award of the International Film and TV Festival of New York in 1976, the Polish Order of International Culture from the Polish President personally, and Mr. Gu Yuan-ching, chairman of the Japan International Broadcasting Association, even praised her to be the “Goddess of Piano”. 

      Professor Anna Teng tours the world. She plays piano with love and tens of thousands of people are touched by her music. She organized all kinds of musical groups and nourished young talents. She founded the Frederic Chopin Foundation Taipei. Her fame of being the “Goddess of Piano” has deeply touched the heart and highly praised by the “2007 Global Love of Lives Assessment Committee” of the Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation. She was selected from 1829 candidates around the world for the Global Love of Lives Medal, and would join other honorees of the 10th Fervent Global Love of Lives Medal to tour Taiwan and Kinmen during May 22 to 30 to promote the Caring Lives public benefit activity series. 

      Secretary-General Sun Hsin-yi of the Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation indicated: 

      Anna Teng, female, 73 years old, was born on May 15, 1934 in Osaka, Japan. She started music learning from the age of four and followed famous pianists Professor and Professor Inokuchi to play piano. When she was nine years old, she played Haydn piano concertos with the Osaka Symphoniker. In March 1954, she was graduated the first from Osaka Music University majoring in piano and received “the first prize of university arts”. In the same year, she won the NHK National Music Contest and left for Europe right after to study. In April 1955, Anna Teng returned to her alma mater – Osaka Music University and became the youngest piano lecturer. Meanwhile, she started her busy career performing in recitals, symphony orchestras and chamber music teams. The most impressive part of her is that at that time she was the first choice for the Japanese Crown Princess, but she saw wealth and fame as nothing and determined to marry to music. 

      In 1961 Anna Teng, after marrying to Taiwan’s well-known musician professor Teng Chang-kuo, has been teaching many students in National Taiwan University of Arts, private Cultural University and music class of Kuang Jen High School. She frequently tours to the Southeast Asia, Europe and South and Central America to perform. Those famous orchestras she has worked with include British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Spokane Symphony Orchestra of the United States, Uruguay National Symphony Orchestra, Venezuela Caracas Symphony Orchestra, Manila Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan NHK Symphony Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, etc. 

      Anna Teng first performed in the United States in 1969. She made 25 tour performances the next year in 15 states. In the next 16 years, Anna Teng would return to the States each year for scheduled recital performance and in each recital she would perform and introduce to the audience pieces from composers of this country, and the name “ANNA TENG” is widely known in the United States. 

      In 1972 Anna Teng was invited by the royal family of Thailand as a guest of honor to stay in the palace to be the piano teacher of His Majesty’s third princess Sirindhorn. Between 1970 and 1973, Anna Teng produced the program “Windows to Music” once a week for China Television. In the program, the episode of “Chinese music and dancing, from classic to modern days” even won the Golden Award of the International Film and TV Festival held in New York. 

      In 1975 Anna Teng immigrated to the United States, considering education for her two sons. During her ten years in the United States, Anna Teng engaged herself in performance and teaching. She had founded groups including “Pan-Pacific Association of Culture and Education” and “Non-Limited Cultural Art Salon” and actively promoted oriental culture, art and music to the American public. 

      In 1985 when her two sons studied in California Polytechnic State University, Anna Teng returned to Japan to attend to her 92-year-old mother and she accepted suggestions from old friends Mr. Hsu Chang-hui and Mr. Chang Chi-kao to come back to Taipei again to work on musical education and performance. Therefore, she started the life back and forth between Osaka and Taipei. Anna Teng returned to her teaching position in National Taiwan University of Arts and private Cultural University. 

      In the same year, with support from the press and business circles, Anna Teng founded the Frederic Chopin Foundation Taipei and also joined the Frederick Chopin International in Warsaw. She aggressively promotes music-related activities, hoping to increase country fellowmen’s ability and interest in music appreciation, to encourage academic study and performance particularly the study and promotion of Chopin, and her ultimate goal is to achieve the prosperity of international exchange and music development of this country. In the past 18 years since the foundation was established, over 800 international concerts, five domestic piano contests and four international piano contests have been held elaborately for the purpose of cultivating numerous music talents. 

      Anna Teng has ever been invited to judge in many international piano competitions including those in White Russia, Spain, Japan and Bangkok, Thailand, and many domestic and international contests held in Taiwan. She also performed nearly 20 recitals in cultural centers and other places in the country each year to raise funds for the activities of the Frederic Chopin Foundation Taipei. 

      For the past 42 years, Anna Teng has been devoted herself in cultivating Taiwan’s music circle quietly. She is dedicated to promoting a higher level of appreciation to arts, and she is also very active in public benefit activities. She pours in huge amount of funds and energy to hold concerts and seminars across the island hoping to enhance the popularity of music and people’s ability to appreciate classic music so as to increase the overall musical level of this country. Her efforts even extended to campus where she promoted her educational ideology of “Love and Ideal”. Each year, she would hold more than 30 sessions of speech and performance for students, and her excellent performing skills and humorous explanation of the pieces she played had won her great popularity and feedback from the audience wherever she went. Such educational ideology and spirit of “Love” and “Ideal” is truly amazing. 

      Since 1997, each year Anna Teng would fly to Los Angeles to be judge of the local piano contest and teach over there as invited by Taiwan Benevolent Association of California. She would also perform at charity concerts to raise funds for the Youth Orchestra of California. She has been sparing no efforts in nourishing outstanding young pianists. In 2002 she was invited to perform in a charity concert to raise funds for Chinese Association for Cancer Prevention in California. 

      Viewed from the above, as Taiwanese composer professor Hsu Chang-hui always said, “The contributions of Anna Teng, in piano performance and teaching, international music exchange and promotion of young talents, will definitely leave an extremely significant legacy in Taiwan’s new music development history.” 

      In 1976, Anna Teng received the Golden Award from the International Film and TV Festival held in New York. 
      In 1990, Anna Teng received Contribution Award to Social Education in Music and Culture presented by the Ministry of Education. 
      In 1996, Anna Teng received the Polish Order of International Culture. 
      In 1999, Anna Teng was honored by the Polish President for promoting “Taiwan Chopin Festival” activities. 

 
The ten music springs that Anna Teng embraced: 
      1. In 1961 Anna Teng, after marrying to Taiwan’s well-known musician professor Teng Chang-kuo, has been teaching and cultivating many excellent students in National Taiwan University of Arts, private Cultural University and music class of Kuang Jen High School. She also co-founded the “Taipei Chamber Music Study Group” with Teng Chang-kuo, Chang Kuan-rong and Hsue Yao-wu to introduce modern Chinese chamber music aggressively at home and abroad. 
      2. In the same year, Anna Teng co-founded “Primary Performance”, “Composers’ Forum” and “Taipei Music” with Hsu Chang-hui, Ku Hsien-liang, Han Kuo-huang and Teng Chang-kuo. She considers that it is performers’ responsibility to perform new pieces publicized by composers. Therefore, she aggressively took on the task both in the country and overseas to allow composers of younger generation to have the opportunities of creation and publication as well. 
      3. In 1965 Professor Teng Chang-kuo, after founding Teachers’ Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra and TTV Symphony Orchestra, often played piano concertos with Anna Teng. This was a pioneering work at the time and their charms had awed music fans at home and abroad. Anna Teng also held concerts playing modern Chinese pieces entirely with Professor Teng Chang-kuo in Japan and Hong Kong. This is an initiative that has never been done before. 
      4. In 1968 Anna Teng recorded the album of “Selection of Modern Piano Pieces” covering works of many composers including Lin Sheng-weng, Huang You-lee, Chou Shu-shen and Hsu Chang-hui. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs distributed 500 albums that it possessed to education ministries, libraries, music universities of Taiwan’s then foreign allies and our embassies stationed abroad. It is very obvious that at that time Anna Teng had contributed tremendously to promoting Taiwan’s musical art to overseas even higher authorities relied very much on her. 
      5. In 1969, Anna Teng performed in the United States for the first time. She made 25 tour performances the next year in 15 states. In the next 16 years, in her scheduled recital performance in the States each year she always arranged to perform pieces from composers of this country to promote Taiwan’s music to American audience and music-loving countries around the world. 
      6. Between 1970 and 1973, Anna Teng produced the program “Windows to Music” once a week for China Television. In the program, the episode of “Chinese music and dancing, from classic to modern days” even won the Golden Award in 1976 and Silver Award in 1975 in the International Film and TV Festival held in New York. 
      7. During her ten-year period between 1975 and 1985 in the United States, Anna Teng had founded groups including “Pan-Pacific Association of Culture and Education” and “Non-Limited Cultural Art Salon” to actively promote oriental culture, art and music to the American public so that more people know about Taiwan. 
      8. In 1985 Anna Teng founded the Frederic Chopin Foundation Taipei and aggressively promoted music-related activities. In 1991, the foundation held “International Piano Competition in Taipei” with 96 contestants from 36 countries joining in the competition. This was the first time for our fellow countrymen to see such a high class international professional piano contest and the event had paved the foundation for our young pianists to shine on the international stage. 
      9. For the past 42 years, Anna Teng has been devoted herself in cultivating Taiwan’s music circle quietly. She is dedicated to promoting a higher level of appreciation to arts, and she is also very active in public benefit activities. She pours in huge amount of funds and energy to hold concerts and seminars across the island hoping to enhance the popularity of music and people’s ability to appreciate classic music, encourage a positive environment for academic study and performance so as to increase the overall musical level of this country. 
      10. As Taiwanese composer professor Hsu Chang-hui always said, “The contributions of Anna Teng, in piano performance and teaching, international music exchange and promotion of young talents, will definitely leave an extremely significant legacy in Taiwan’s new music development history.” 
[Press commentary]?
      LOS ANGELES EXAMINER: Anna Teng’s rich emotion in her performance of Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.2 in the Los Angeles Music Center is unforgettable. The Center is jammed with 3500 audience and she has to respond to a curtain call over again for as many as four times. 

      Head line on the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICAL: HIGHLY MUSICAL! 
      Anna Teng’s performance is a high class musical concert. The audience is really impressed by the natural and peaceful elements in the performance. 
      LOS ANGELES TIMES: Anna Teng has Rubinstein’s charm and playing skills. She is a very remarkable artist. The audience listens and gives her a standing ovation which is one of the ways to say how much they are touched. The audience loves her as much as her music. 
      WASHINGTON POST: if you frequently attend concerts held by the Washington Stage Art Association in Kennedy Center, you should know that there are many world famous pianists and they all have a certain level of performance. Among them, Anna Teng has the highest level as far as I observe. Her quick and accurate finger touches control the music skillfully. The audience is impressed by her strong and powerful music that flows relaxingly from her tiny shoulders. The sense of crystal clear transparency that she presents when she plays Mozart pieces deserves to be highly praised. 
      BRIDGE PORT CHRONICAL: Anna Teng’s performance conveys soft and rich music features with flawless bright and clear tones. 
      GENEVA LA SUIS: Anna Teng’s performance presents tones as clear as crystal. Her natural music skills fully expose her talents. She is a naturally-born musician. 
      Head line of KUALA LUMPUR MORNING STAR: FIRE and FINESS! 
SPOKANE POST: Anna Teng is like an oriental beautiful doll when she steps onto the stage. Once settled beside the piano, she has transformed Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5《Emperor》played by “Piano Giant” and Spokane Symphony Orchestra with her special interpretation and super skills. Her remarkable performance has awed the 3000 audience in the Spokane Theatre.