The NSO’s Resident Conductor, Yin-Fang Chang, takes the helm for a most stimulating program. The opening work is another in the NSO’s series of new works by Taiwanese composers and inspired by Hakka culture. This one is by Ke- Chia Chen and is entitled Hakka Tales. Next comes Chopin’s First Piano Concerto featuring the renowned pianist Ching-Yun Hu. Petrushka – the immortal and unhappy hero of every fair in all countries – was the second of Stravinsky’s Russian-inspired ballet scores (following The Firebird). Two surging crowd scenes set in Admiralty Square, St. Petersburg depict a swirling mass of motion and color at Carnival time. High spirits, dances, magicians, vendors, side shows, and attractions of all sorts add up to a veritable riot of sound and color. These scenes frame two “inner” scenes, which depict the very human side of the puppet-come-to-life, Petrushka.