簡名彥 Chien Min-Yen

簡名彥

為我國第一位活躍於國際舞臺的近代臺灣小提琴演奏家。早在六零年代美國茱莉亞四重奏訪臺期間，其中已故中提琴家 Raphael Hillyer 便已挖掘出簡名彥之非凡潛力。於 1975 年以極為優異的成績畢業於紐約茱莉亞音樂學院後，次年即以驚人的效率獲該音樂院之小提琴演奏碩士學位，其演奏風範在當時已備受紐約地區樂界推崇。而期間與其受邀合作過之當今國際級的演奏家更是不計其數，如：David Finckle、Daniel Phillips、Mark Kaplan、姜東錫（Dong-Suk Kang）、張萬鈞（Lynn Chang）、吳涵等，實為臺灣小提琴演奏家邁向國際領域開拓之先驅。

在美國期間，曾先後師事並應邀擔任過二十世紀美國一代小提琴巨擘葛拉米安（Ivan Galamian）及馬可夫（Albert Markov）兩位教授之教學助理多年；室內樂則師承於茱莉亞四重奏（Juilliard String Quartet）、Lenox String Quartet、Felix Galimier、Lilian Fuchs、William Lincer、Josef Gingold。由於出生醫生世家，一直不能忘情醫學，更於 1983 年進入美國阿肯色大學醫學院，為一嘗夙願，完成基礎醫學課程。

1986 年應當時國立藝術學院（為現今國立臺北藝術大學之前身）教務長馬水龍之力邀返臺任教，參與新生代小提琴家的培育工作重責，許多名揚國際亦或各大交響樂團的首席及提琴演奏家們，均深受其影響而露均霑。

近年來，簡名彥教授常以醫學的角度，深入探討小提琴演奏時骨骼與肌肉系統之間的相互關係，並致力於肌肉在錯誤使用（misuse）上與過度使用（overuse）後造成傷害的研究，曾於 1994 年 2 月，應邀在「中華民國人因工程學會」所舉行的「以安全與健康」為主題的國際醫學年會暨研討會（The 1994 International Conference on Ergonomics and Health）中以「小提琴肩之探討」為題發表專題演講，其中說明了經由肌動學（Kinesiology）和運動醫學（Sport Medicine）的角度中，領悟到如何破解小提琴演奏與練習上經常發生的盲點，更釐清了一般提琴表演工作者平時所執著的傳統錯誤觀念—「吃的苦中苦，方為人上人」（No pain , No gain！）。

負笈國外二十年之後返臺，仍汲汲不忘為尋求新的突破而努力，並向指揮家及小提琴家林克昌教授與法國小提琴泰斗吉拉．普雷（Gérard Poulet）教授登門求教。集畢生所學及各家門派之著作（從尼古拉．帕格尼尼二十四首《練想曲》作品一～探討指法與左大姆指之運用）更印證了其所堅持之「人性化演奏法」，讓愛樂者們見證到一位演奏家是如何延長與拓展演奏之生命與範疇。

Min-Yen Chien

Min-Yen Chien is recognized as Taiwan’s first modern violinist to achieve active international prominence. As early as the 1960s, during a visit to Taiwan by the Juilliard String Quartet, the late violist Raphael Hillyer discerned Chien’s exceptional potential. After graduating with outstanding distinction from The Juilliard School in New York in 1975, Chien went on to earn his Master’s degree in Violin Performance the following year with remarkable efficiency. His refined artistic style was highly regarded within New York’s musical community at the time. Throughout this period, he was invited to collaborate with numerous internationally renowned musicians, including David Finckel, Daniel Phillips, Mark Kaplan, Dong-Suk Kang, Lynn Chang, and Wu Han, establishing him as a pioneering figure in advancing Taiwanese violinists onto the international stage.

During his years in the United States, Chien studied extensively and served for many years as a teaching assistant to two towering figures of twentieth-century American violin pedagogy: Ivan Galamian and Albert Markov. His chamber music training was shaped under the guidance of the Juilliard String Quartet, the Lenox String Quartet, Felix Galimier, Lilian Fuchs, William Lincer, and Josef Gingold. Born into a family of physicians, Chien retained a deep interest in medicine and, in 1983, entered the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, fulfilling a long-held aspiration by completing foundational medical coursework.

In 1986, at the invitation of composer and educator Shui-Long Ma, then Academic Dean of the National Institute of the Arts (now Taipei National University of the Arts), Chien returned to Taiwan to teach. There, he assumed a central role in cultivating the next generation of violinists. Many performers who later gained international recognition or became principal players in major symphony orchestras were profoundly influenced by his teaching.

In recent years, Professor Chien has increasingly approached violin performance from a medical perspective, conducting in-depth research into the relationship between the skeletal and muscular systems during violin playing. His work focuses particularly on injuries resulting from misuse and overuse of muscles. In February 1994, he was invited to present a featured lecture titled “A Study of the Violin Shoulder” at the International Conference on Ergonomics and Health, organized by the Ergonomics Society of the Republic of China. Drawing on insights from kinesiology and sports medicine, he addressed common blind spots in violin performance and practice, and challenged the long-held misconception among musicians—“No pain, no gain”—as a misguided and harmful approach.

After more than twenty years of study abroad, Chien returned to Taiwan with an undiminished commitment to artistic growth and innovation. He continued to seek guidance from distinguished figures such as conductor and violinist Professor Lin Ke-Chang and the eminent French violin pedagogue Gérard Poulet. Synthesizing a lifetime of study across diverse schools of thought—ranging from Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices to detailed explorations of fingering techniques and the use of the left thumb—Chien has consistently affirmed his advocacy of a “human-centered approach to performance.” Through this philosophy, audiences and musicians alike have witnessed how a performer may extend both the longevity and expressive scope of a performing career.