T he Brasil Guitar Duo landed in Taiwan earlier this week to play seven concerts across the island dur-ing their brief stay. To date, members Douglas Lora

and João Luiz have recorded together the complete guitar duo works by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, the complete Bach Flute Sonatas with flautist Marina Piccinini, and an all-Brazilian album titled “Bom Partido.”

“In our program we try to bring authentic music from Brazil,” Lora explained. Though bossa nova such as “The Girl from Ipanema” comes readily to mind, Lora noted that “it’s one little fragment of the whole thing — Brazil is a very big country and [each part] has its own music [and] culture.”

With this in mind, the duo’s repertoire introduces dances from the Northeast like baião, xaxado, xote, frevo and madacatu, as well as choro and samba.

The duo met 16 years ago at a school of music in São Paulo, through a chamber music class. “We started to play together without expecting anything,” recalled Lora. The duo’s teacher, Henrique Pinto, saw promise in them and urged them to continue. “It was very very natural … we just did it for the pleasure of the path, not

[aiming] to get somewhere, just to go step by step doing one thing that we like.”

Mutual understanding comes intuitively for them. “We play a piece and the ideas come naturally. If you have to talk your partner too much about the music there’s something wrong, because you guys are not in the same place. Of course we are very different people, two different persons, but when we play we are one. But I recognize how difficult a relationship like that [is]. A lot of duos are brothers or sisters, or husband and wife. It’s very rare to see two friends [together] for so long.”

“The Concert Artists Guild competition changed our lives completely, from nothing to doing 60 concerts a year [for the past six years],” Luiz recalled. Jetting around the world has been hard at times, but Luiz and Lora use Skype to keep in touch with family.

“We always wanted to travel the world playing our music, and that’s a privilege for any musician,” mused Lora. They miss their family, friends and homes. Yet considering that many famous Brazilian musicians do not have the same touring career as them, they are thankful and believe that it is not time to be sad but “time to work and travel.”

After playing to a full house in Taipei yesterday, the duo will next play in Taichung, Pingtung, Hualien, Miaoli, Kaohsiung and Ilan. Please call: (02) 2368-2856 or visit www.proartist.com.tw for more details. ■

Classical Music

By Lin yutingThe China Post

Prime Calendar4Friday, April 20, 2012

The China Post

Editor Dimitri Bruyas

Designer Wang Chien-yu

All events listed here are subject to change. Send your event information in english to

primetime@mail.chinapost.com.tw

‧happenings‧movies‧calendar‧PRIMETIME

© 2012, The China Post. All rights reserved.

Savor innovative Thai dishes at the Café

T he Songkran Festival or the Thai New Year just ended last weekend. If you missed the opportunity to throw some water on friends and family — the most observed

way to celebrate it since water is believed to wash away bad luck — don’t miss the Thai dishes presented by guest chef Kevarin Likhitvong at the Grand Hyatt Taipei (台北君悅大飯店).

Since 1993, Likhitvong has been working with the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok; he has also worked as guest chef in different corners of the world. This time she brought 27 dishes to Thai food lovers in Taipei.

Besides trademark Thai flavors such as tom yam goong (spicy and sour prawn soup) or khao soy gai (egg noodles and chicken in yellow curry soup), innovative dishes like spicy prawn wrapped in egg net adds more style to the menu. In Thai language the name translates as shrimps lying on the net. Likhitvong fries the egg extremely thin, just like a net that coats the shrimp.

In fact, Thai food is a popular choice among Taiwanese people who appreciate spicy food. But most local Thai res-taurants only offer typical dishes, and differ little from one another. To take Thai dishes to the next level, a chef must

find the best balance among the flavors and match all the colors on the plate, Likhitvong pointed out.■

►The Thai dishes are available in the buffet style at the Café (凱菲屋) until April 22 (Sun.), the menu is priced at

NT$1,100 for lunch, and NT$1,300 for dinner. Please Call: (02) 2720-1200 ext.3198 for more information or

reservations.

Fine Dining

By tang hsiang-yiThe China Post

Classical Music

‘Dear strings and winds, 20th edition’ (絲絃情XX)

To hear the uniquely fascinating timbres of Chinese instruments revealed through progressive works in a variety of styles, listen to “Dear strings and winds, 20th edition” (絲絃情XX), an upcoming concert offered by the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (小巨人絲竹樂團). On Saturday, at the National Recital Hall (國家演奏廳), soloists of sheng (笙), zheng (箏, or Chinese zither), erhu (二胡) and di (笛, or Chinese flute) and 20-some players of Chinese strings and winds will premiere sev-eral enthralling concertos and chamber pieces, including “Mountainside Waterside III” (在山與水之間III), “Wu-suli chant” (烏蘇里吟), “Indigo” (蒼), “Free verse about a belle” (麗人行) and “Flowers that Drift into Paradise” (飄進天堂的花朵).

The orchestra is conducted by founder Chen Chih-sheng (陳志昇), a proficient erhu player and conductor who holds a Ph.D from the Institute of Microbiology and Biochemistry at the National Taiwan University (國立台灣大學). ■

‘Dear strings and winds, 20th edition’ (絲絃情XX)► 2:30 p.m. April 21 (Sat.) / National Recital Hall (國家演奏廳) / No. 21-1 Chung-Shan S. Rd., Taipei (台北市中山南路 21-1 號) /

NT$300 ~ NT$500 / (02) 2927-7445 / www.artsticket.com.tw

Dining & WineDiscover The Westin Taipei’s new

promotionsThe Westin Tai-

pei is now offering its 2012 promotions for its five themed venues, with English, Italian, Japanese, Shanghai and Bei-jing styles, boasting a diverse range of creative culinary de-lights.

Danieli’s Italian Restaurant is tender-ing its French white asparagus banquet (NT$3,480), while those seeking a taste of northern Chinese can look forward to the Yi Yuan Peking Cuisine (prices starting at NT$120).

Banquets are available at Gi-On Japanese Cuisine, with freshly prepared crab (NT$3,800), and Liu Yuan Shanghai Cuisine, featuring specially prepared abalone (NT$2,300), which complements its long-standing reputation for exotic Shanghainese dim sum.

Those seeking refreshments at the Churchill Jazz and Cigar Lounge on Fridays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. this May can join in the “crazy party” happy hour. ■► The Westin Taipei is located at No. 133 Nanjing E. Rd. Sec.3, Taipei. Prices are subject to a 10-percent service charge. For more information and bookings, please call:

(02) 8770-6565, or visit: www.westin.com.tw.

CONSUMER HIGHLIGHTS Text: James Donald, supplement writer Photos: Courtesy of the advertisers

Dining & WineRegent Taipei’s Korloff Cocktail Collection

Gallery is now celebrat-ing the grand opening of its flagship Taiwan store at Regent Galleria with nine cocktail inventions, each inspired by the eponymous French luxury jewelry brand’s black diamonds, the Korloff Collection (until May 11),

Among the “Korloff Cocktail Collection,” are “Pure Black,” a concoc-tion of Jim Beam, coffee, black cacao, simple syrup and Cointreau filled with crushed ice and coke; “Em-

erald Green,” made with Malibu, melon liquor and pine-apple juice; and “Royal Blue,” a mix of vodka, apple liquor, blue curacao and syrup.

Prices of cocktails begin at NT$360 each. ■► Regent Taipei is located at No. 41 Zhongshan N. Rd., Sec.

2, Taipei. For more information or reservations, please call: (02) 2521 5000 ext. 3852, or visit www.regenthotels.com.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.

Four hands on 12 strings

'Spicy Prawn Wrapped in Egg Net' is an innovative dish brought by guest chef Kevarin Likhitvong. Wang Chien-yu, The China Post

Courtesy of Pro Artist Int’l