Upon the death of Chiang Kai-shek in 1975, the Kuomintang government authorized the construction of a monument and cultural arts facilities on the grounds of a memorial plaza.

The G+H Company of Germany and Philips, based in The Netherlands, played leading roles in the design of the interior facilities, stage lighting and acoustics.

Six directors oversaw the project from initial planning sessions to final completion: Jou Tsuo-Min, Chang Chih-liang, Liu Feng-shueh, Hu Yao-heng, Li Yen and Chu Tzung-ching.

Visitors over the years have included Margaret Thatcher of the UK, Mikhail Gorbachev of the USSR, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Rafael Calderón Muñoz of Costa Rica and former First Lady Betty Ford of the U.S.[4] The National Theater and Concert Hall host a constant stream of events by local and international artists each year.

Performers who have appeared in the National Theater include the Cloud Gate Dance Theater, The Kirov Ballet, the Suzuki Company of Toga and its director Tadashi Suzuki, Yang Li-hua Taiwanese Opera, the Ming Hwa Yuan Theater Troupe, the Fei Ma Yu Opera Troupe and Pili Heroes, kabuki performer Bandō Tamasaburō V, stage director Robert Wilson, and dancers Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Rudolph Nureyev, Pina Bausch, Trisha Brown, Liu Feng-hsueh, Lin Hwai-min, Lo Man-fei, Yu Hao-yen and Liu Shao-lu.

[4][5] International performers in the National Concert Hall have included composers Philip Glass and Samuel Adler and Fredrick Ernest, sopranos Jessye Norman, Barbara Hendricks and Mirella Freni, tenors Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, baritone Bryn Terfel, violinists Pinchas Zukerman, Hilary Hahn and Akiko Suwanai, cellists Mstislav Rostropovich and Yo-Yo Ma, pianists Pi-hsien Chen, Nobuyuki Tsujii, Ruth Slenczynska, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Fou Ts'ong and Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductors Simon Rattle, Günther Herbig, Mei-Ann Chen, Sergiu Celibidache, Michael Tilson Thomas, Apo Hsu, Helmuth Rilling and Lorin Maazel.

The buildings regularly provide a backdrop to outdoor events on Liberty Square, including visits to Taiwan by foreign leaders and the annual Taipei Lantern Festival.

The festival season featured visits by Tadashi Suzuki, Philip Glass, Robert Wilson, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as well as the Cloud Gate Dance Theater, Yang Li-hua Taiwanese Opera (楊麗花歌仔戲), Performance Workshop Theater (表演工作坊) and New-Classic Dance Company (新古典舞團).