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Mendelssohn, Tan Dun, and Joel Thompson

Mendelssohn was so taken with the history and landscape of Scotland that it inspired his Symphony No. 3, which is inflected with stylistic elements of Scottish dances. The program opens with a World Premiere by Joel Thompson, followed by NY Phil Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi as soloist in Tan Dun’s concerto inspired by three ancient Chinese instruments. Jaap van Zweden conducts.

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Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall

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Joel thompson, fe. mendelssohn.

Joseph Alessi was appointed Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic, The Gurnee F. and Marjorie L. Hart Chair, in the spring of 1985. He began musical studies in his native California with his father, Joseph Alessi, Sr., as a high school student in San Rafael, California, and was a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony before continuing his musical training at the Curtis Institute of Music. Before joining the Philharmonic, Alessi was second trombone of The Philadelphia Orchestra for four seasons, and principal trombone of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for one season. He has performed as guest principal trombonist with the London Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, led by Pierre Boulez.

Learn more about Joseph Alessi

Jaap van Zweden began his tenure as the 26th Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2018. He has also served as Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic since 2012, and became Music Director of the Seoul Philharmonic in 2024. He will become Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in September 2026, after serving as its Music Director Designate in the 2025–26 season. He has conducted orchestras on three continents, appearing as guest with, in Europe, the Orchestre de Paris, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestra, and, in the United States, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and other distinguished ensembles.

Learn more about Jaap van Zweden

SPECIAL THANKS

Major support for these concerts is provided by  Honey M. Kurtz.

These performances of Joel Thompson’s New Work are made possible with generous support from the  Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts. American Composers Forum support is made possible by  The Thelma E. Hunter Fund in honor of the 100th anniversary of her birth.

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Free passes to donor rehearsals. Access to the new Ackman Family Patron Lounge. Concierge ticketing services. Champagne receptions with artists. All this – and more – when you become a member!

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january, 2023

Tan Dun: Yi2 (American Premiere) & Crouching Tiger Concerto

14 jan 7:30 pm 10:00 pm Event Type Symphonic Concert Tan Dun: Yi2 (American Premiere) & Crouching Tiger Concerto Harris Theater , 205 E Randolph Street Chicago, IL 60601 Event Organized By Chicago Philharmonic 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

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Event Details

Chicago Philharmonic Scott Speck Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Sharon Isbin Guitar Joshua Roman Cello Buy tickets to Tan Dun’s Yi2 and Crouching Tiger Concerto Ushering in the 2023 Chinese

Chicago Philharmonic Scott Speck  Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Sharon Isbin  Guitar Joshua Roman  Cello

Buy tickets to Tan Dun’s Yi2 and Crouching Tiger Concerto

Ushering in the 2023 Chinese New Year with masterpieces by Tan Dun for cello, guitar, and orchestra. 

  • Academy and Grammy Award winning Chinese-American composer Tan Dun is a master of mood, melody, and mixing traditional Chinese and Western music.
  • Sharon Isbin performs the American Premiere of Dun’s Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra (Yi2), which draws inspiration from Spanish Flamenco and an ancient Chinese flute called the Pipa.
  • Dun’s Crouching Tiger Suite weaves music from the soundtrack of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with solo cello (performed by none other than the charismatic Joshua Roman ), Chinese percussion, and orchestra.
  • Donna Milanovich Composer in Residence Reinaldo Moya brings a World Premiere cello concertino .

About Tan Dun

The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun, has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. A winner of today’s most prestigious honors including the Grammy Award, Oscar/Academy Award, Grawemeyer Award, Bach Prize, Shostakovich Award, and most recently Italy’s Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement, Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. This past year, Tan Dun conducted the grand opening celebration of Disneyland Shanghai which was broadcast to a record-breaking audience worldwide.

As a conductor of innovative programs around the world, Tan Dun has led the China tours of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra. His current season includes leading the NDR Radiophilharmonie in a five-city tour in Germany, as well as engagements with the London Symphony Orchestra and at the Venice Biennale. Tan Dun has led the world’s most esteemed orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, among others.

(Saturday) 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

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205 E Randolph Street Chicago, IL 60601

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Conductor/Composer

The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. A winner of today’s most prestigious honours including the Grammy Award, Oscar/Academy Award, Grawemeyer Award, Bach Prize, Shostakovich Award, Italy’s Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement, and most recently Istanbul Music Festival’s Lifetime achievement award. Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. In 2019, Tan Dun was named as Dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music. As dean, Tan Dun further demonstrates music’s extraordinary ability to transform lives and guide the Conservatory in fulfilling its mission of understanding music’s connection to history, art, culture, and society.

As a conductor of innovative programmes around the world, Tan Dun has led the China tours of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra. His current season includes appearances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Tan Dun is an Artistic Ambassador of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and serves as the Honorary Artistic director of the China National Symphony, Principal Guest conductor at Shenzhen Symphony, and Honorary Artistic Director and Chief Guest conductor of the Xi´an Symphony Orchestra.Tan Dun has also led the world’s most esteemed orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Tan Dun’s individual voice has been heard widely by international audiences. His first Internet Symphony , which was commissioned by Google/YouTube, has reached over 23 million people online. His Organic Music Trilogy of Water, Paper and Ceramic has frequented major concert halls and festivals. Paper Concerto was premiered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the opening of the Walt Disney Hall. His multimedia work, The Map , premiered by YoYo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has toured more than 30 countries worldwide. Its manuscript has been collected by the Carnegie Hall Composers Gallery. His Orchestral Theatre IV: The Gate was premiered by Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra and crosses the cultural boundaries of Peking Opera, Western Opera and puppet theatre traditions. Most recently, Tan Dun conducted the premiere of his new oratorio epic Buddha Passion at the Dresden Festival with the Münchner Philharmoniker, the piece was co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Festival and has since had premieres worldwide and will continue with upcoming premieres in London, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. 

Tan Dun records for Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Opus Arte, BIS and Naxos. His recordings have garnered many accolades, including a Grammy Award ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) and nomination ( The First Emperor ; Marco Polo ; Pipa Concerto), Japan’s Recording Academy Awards for Best Contemporary Music CD ( Water Passion after St. Matthew ) and the BBC’s Best Orchestral Album ( Death and Fire ). Tan Dun’s music is published by G. Schirmer, Inc. and represented worldwide by the Music Sales Group of Classical Companies.

For more information on Tan Dun, please visit www.tandun.com.

Performances

21st march 2024.

  • Trombone Concerto: Three Muses in Video Game New York Premiere

22nd March 2024

  • Trombone Concerto: Three Muses in Video Game

23rd March 2024

24th march 2024, 11th april 2024.

  • Contrabass Concerto: Wolf Totem

The Best Recordings of 2023 from Wise Music Classical

  • The Best Recordings of 2023 from Wise Music Classical
  • Wise Music Classical invites you to enjoy a selection of the best recordings of 2023, featuring composers from across our international family of publishing houses.

New works for soloist and orchestra

  • New works for soloist and orchestra
  • Read through this selection of dazzling new works written for some of the world’s top soloists by Wise Music Classical’s composers.

New Opera Highlights from Wise Music Classical

  • New Opera Highlights from Wise Music Classical
  • Wise Music Classical invites you to explore new highlights from our opera catalogue. In these recent and upcoming premieres, new productions, and premiere recordings, our composers and their creative collaborators explore subjects ranging from the historical (Hadrian, X: The Life and Times of Malcom X, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) to the futuristic (Oryx and Crake), the fantastic (El Ultimo Sueño de Frida y Diego, Florencia en el Amazonas, Die Kinder des Sultans) to the thoroughly contemporary (Grounded, Blue, Innocence, The Shell Trial). Threaded throughout these works are perennial themes of loss, longing, magic, art-making, and community.

The Operas of Tan Dun

  • The Operas of Tan Dun
  • The music of Chinese American composer Tan Dun invites the listener into a personal sound world that expertly marries Eastern and Western musical traditions.

Opera for Socially Distanced Performance

  • Opera for Socially Distanced Performance
  • Wise Music Classical is pleased to share a collection of dynamic dramatic works for small forces.

Discography

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Pianist Yulianna Avdeeva

Tour of China

February 25-28, 2021

The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun,  has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. A winner of today’s most prestigious honors including the   Grammy Award ,   Oscar/Academy Award ,   Grawemeyer Award ,   Bach Prize ,  Shostakovich Award , and   most recently Italy’s Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement , Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. Most recently, Tan Dun was named as Dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music. As dean, Tan Dun will further demonstrate music’s extraordinary ability to transform lives and guide the Conservatory in fulfilling its mission of understanding music’s connection to history, art, culture, and society.

As a conductor of innovative programs around the world,  Tan Dun has led the China tours of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra. His current season includes leading the Orchestre National de Lyon in a six-city China tour, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in a four-city tour of Switzerland and Belgium as well as engagements with the Rai National Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra where he was recently named Artistic Ambassador. Tan Dun currently serves as the Principle Guest Conductor of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. In 2016, Tan Dun conducted the grand opening celebration of Disneyland Shanghai which was broadcast to a record-breaking audience worldwide. Tan Dun has led the world’s most esteemed orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Münchner Philharmoniker, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Tan Dun’s individual voice has been heard widely by international audiences.  His first   Internet Symphony , which was commissioned by Google/YouTube, has reached over 23 million people online. His Organic Music Trilogy of Water, Paper and Ceramic has frequented major concert halls and festivals.   Paper Concerto   was premiered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the opening of the Walt Disney Hall. His multimedia work,   The Map , premiered by YoYo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has toured more than 30 countries worldwide. Its manuscript has been collected by the Carnegie Hall Composers Gallery. His   Orchestral Theatre IV: The Gate   was premiered by Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra and crosses the cultural boundaries of Peking Opera, Western Opera and puppet theatre traditions. Other important premieres include   Four Secret Roads of Marco Polo   for the Berlin Philharmonic, Piano Concerto   “The Fire”   for Lang Lang and the New York Philharmonic. In recent seasons, his percussion concerto,   The Tears of Nature , for soloist Martin Grubinger premiered in 2012 with the NDR Symphony Orchestra and   Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women   Symphony for 13 Microfilms, Harp and Orchestra was co-commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. Most recently, Tan Dun conducted the premiere of his new oratorio epic   Buddha Passion   at the Dresden Festival with the Münchner Philharmoniker, the piece was co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Festival and will go on to have performances in Melbourne, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Rome, Hamburg, Paris, Singapore and London in the coming seasons.

As a visual artist,   Tan Dun’s work has been featured at the opening of the China Pavilion at the 56 th   Venice Art Biennale. Other solo exhibitions include the New York’s Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Beijing’s Chambers Fine Art Gallery, and Shanghai Gallery of Art. Most recently, Tan Dun conducted The Juilliard Orchestra in the world premiere of his   Symphony of Colors: Terracotta   for the opening of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s epic exhibition   The Age of Empires.  

As a global cultural leader,   Tan Dun uses his creativity to raise awareness of environmental issues and to protect cultural diversity. In 2010, as “Cultural Ambassador to the World” for the World EXPO Shanghai, Tan Dun envisioned, curated and composed two special site-specific performances that perform year-round and have since become cultural representations of Shanghai:   Peony Pavilion , a Chinese opera set in a Ming Dynasty garden and his   Water Heavens   string quartet which promotes water conservation and environmental awareness. Tan Dun was also commissioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to write the Logo Music and Award Ceremony Music for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Tan Dun currently serves as Honorary Chair of Carnegie Hall’s China Advisory Council, and has previously served as Creative Chair of the 2014 Philadelphia Orchestra China Tour, Associate Composer/Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony, and Artistic Director of the Festival   Water Crossing Fire   held at the Barbican Centre.

Tan Dun records for Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Opus Arte, BIS and Naxos.   His recordings have garnered many accolades, including a Grammy Award ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) and nomination ( The First Emperor ;  Marco Polo ;  Pipa Concerto ), Japan’s Recording Academy Awards for Best Contemporary Music CD ( Water Passion after St. Matthew ) and the BBC’s Best Orchestral Album ( Death and Fire ). Tan Dun’s music is published by G. Schirmer, Inc. and represented worldwide by the Music Sales Group of Classical Companies.

For more information on Tan Dun, please visit www.tandun.com.

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tan dun tour

About this Artist

The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador TAN DUN, has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. A winner of today’s most prestigious honors including the Grammy Award, Oscar/Academy Award, Grawemeyer Award, Bach Prize, Shostakovich Award, and most recently Italy’s Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement, Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. This past year, Tan Dun conducted the grand opening celebration of Disneyland Shanghai which was broadcast to a record-breaking audience worldwide.

As a conductor of innovative programs around the world, Tan Dun has led the China tours of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra. His current season includes leading the Orchestre National de Lyon in a five-city China tour, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in a four-city tour of Switzerland and Belgium, as well as engagements with the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra where he was recently named Artistic Ambassador. Tan Dun currently serves as the Honorary Artistic Director of the China National Symphony Orchestra. Next season, he will conduct the English Chamber Orchestra in their tour of China. 

Tan Dun’s individual voice has been heard widely by international audiences. His first Internet Symphony , which was commissioned by Google/YouTube, has reached over 23 million people online. His Organic Music Trilogy of Water, Paper, and Ceramic has frequented major concert halls and festivals. Paper Concerto was premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall. His multimedia work, The Map , premiered by Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has toured more than 30 countries worldwide. Its manuscript has been collected by the Carnegie Hall Composers Gallery. His Orchestral Theatre IV: The Gate was premiered by Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra and crosses the cultural boundaries of Peking Opera, Western Opera, and puppet theater traditions. Other important premieres include Four Secret Roads of Marco Polo for the Berlin Philharmonic, and the piano concerto The Fire for Lang Lang and the New York Philharmonic. In recent years, his percussion concerto, The Tears of Nature , for soloist Martin Grubinger, premiered in 2012 with the NDR Symphony Orchestra, and his Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women Symphony for 13 Microfilms, Harp and Orchestra was co-commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. Most recently, Tan Dun conducted the premiere of his new oratorio epic, Buddha Passion , at the Dresden Festival with the Münchner Philharmoniker; the piece was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the Dresden Festival and is now having performances in Melbourne, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Hamburg, Singapore, and London in the current and coming seasons.

Tan Dun records for Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Opus Arte, BIS, and Naxos. His recordings have garnered many accolades, including a Grammy Award ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) and Grammy nominations ( The First Emperor; Marco Polo; Pipa Concerto ), Japan’s Recording Academy Award for Best Contemporary Music CD ( Water Passion after St. Matthew ), and the BBC’s Best Orchestral Album ( Death and Fire ). 

For more information on Tan Dun, please visit tandun.com.

Tan Dun would also like to thank the Dunhuang Foundation and its trustees, particularly Jeff Xiong and Rita Hu, as well as William and Judith Bollinger, for their generous support of Buddha Passion . The Bollingers’ generous gift was given in memory of the Honorable Lee Kwan Yew.

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“ Mr. Tan is a dynamic conductor with colorful illustrations for the eye and ear.” (The New York Times)

The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. A winner of today’s most prestigious honours including the  Grammy Award ,  Oscar/​Academy Award ,  Grawemeyer Award ,  Bach Prize ,  Shostakovich Award ,  Italy’s Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement , and most recently Istanbul Music Festival’s Lifetime achievement award. Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. In 2019 , Tan Dun was named as Dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music. As dean, Tan Dun further demonstrates music’s extraordinary ability to transform lives and guide the Conservatory in fulfilling its mission of understanding music’s connection to history, art, culture, and society.

As a conductor of innovative programmes around the world, his current season includes appearances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Tan Dun is an Artistic Ambassador of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and serves as the Honorary Artistic director of the China National Symphony, Principal Guest conductor at Shenzhen Symphony, and Honorary Artistic Director and Chief Guest conductor of the Xi´an Symphony Orchestra . Tan Dun has also led the world’s most esteemed orchestras, including London Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Tan Dun

Tan Dun’s individual voice has been heard widely by international audiences. His first  Internet Symphony , which was commissioned by Google/​YouTube, has reached over 23 million people online. His Organic Music Trilogy of Water, Paper and Ceramic has frequented major concert halls and festivals.  Paper Concerto  was premiered with Los Angeles Philharmonic at the opening of the Walt Disney Hall. His multimedia work,  The Map , premiered by YoYo Ma and Boston Symphony Orchestra, has toured more than 30 countries worldwide. Its manuscript has been collected by the Carnegie Hall Composers Gallery. His  Orchestral Theatre IV : The Gate  was premiered by Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra and crosses the cultural boundaries of Peking Opera, Western Opera and puppet theatre traditions. Most recently, Tan Dun conducted the premiere of his new oratorio epic  Buddha Passion  at the Dresden Festival with Münchner Philharmoniker, the piece was co-commissioned by New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Festival and has since had premieres worldwide and will continue with upcoming premieres in London, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. 

Tan Dun records for Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI , Opus Arte, BIS and Naxos. His recordings have garnered many accolades, including a Grammy Award ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) and nomination ( The First Emperor ;  Marco Polo ;  Pipa Concerto ), Japan’s Recording Academy Awards for Best Contemporary Music CD ( Water Passion after St. Matthew ) and the BBC ’s Best Orchestral Album ( Death and Fire ). Tan Dun’s music is published by G. Schirmer, Inc. and represented worldwide by the Music Sales Group of Classical Companies.

HarrisonParrott exclusively represents Tan Dun as a conductor throughout the world excepting Russian Federation, UAE , Saudi Arabia, North America and France and non-exclusively in China and its territories, Singapore and Japan (Territory).

tan dun tour

“ [Tan Dun’s work] was innovative and sophisticated, with Tan intriguing and engaging the audience, breathing new life into musical traditions in an unexpected and modern context, and experimenting with new techniques of creating sounds from instruments.”

“ [Tan Dun’s] music is as wide-ranging as it is all-embracing, and resonates with a global audience.”

“ [Tan Dun] long ago broke through the limitations of any genre to fashion his own style.”

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Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion receives Italian premiere with soloist Hongni Wu

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World-premiere recording of Tan Dun’s ​ ‘ Buddha Passion’ set for release

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Ten HP artists &  touring clients perform at EIF   2023

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Tan Dun conducts LPO for the UK premiere of ​ ‘ Buddha Passion’

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Tan Dun Concludes the 2021 Beijing Music Festival

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HarrisonParrott welcomes conductor and composer Tan Dun to its roster for general management

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‘Crouching Tiger’ composer Tan Dun gets a Seattle Symphony minifestival

Situated at the edge of the Gobi desert, just outside the city of Dunhuang in northwestern China, is a vast network of cliff-carved cave temples containing the world’s largest display of Buddhist art and artifacts.

Visiting the site left an indelible mark on Tan Dun.

The Mogao Caves, as they are known, comprise 490,000 square feet of murals and thousands of painted sculptures created over a period spanning more than a millennium, along with many other examples of religious artwork.

“I had to go back again and again to see them by myself,” the internationally renowned composer recalled during a recent Zoom conversation. “I even went there secretly one night, which was very scary” — but, he adds, allowed him to imagine being present during the time of the Buddha.

Tan’s transformative encounter spurred him to envision “Buddha Passion,” a monumental, boundary-crossing work that uses vivid parables and folklike tales inspired by the Mogao Caves to convey the Buddha’s teaching of compassion. Modeling it after the narrative power he admires in J.S. Bach’s Passion settings, Tan deems “Buddha Passion,” which he completed in 2018, among his most important creations and a kind of spiritual testament.

The composer himself will conduct “Buddha Passion” on Nov. 10 and 12 as the culmination of Seattle Symphony’s minifestival “The Musical World of Tan Dun” Nov. 3-13.

Tan immersed himself for two years in studying the murals, sculptures and other art during frequent visits to the caves. He also visited the libraries in the West where many of the priceless manuscripts long sealed off in one of the caves had since been dispersed — some even containing information on ancient musical practice.

In addition to “Buddha Passion,” there will be performances of a much earlier reflection on spirituality, “Ghost Opera” (Nov. 11 at the Symphony’s intimate Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center space). Written for the Kronos String Quartet and a pipa (Chinese lute) player, it draws on Tan’s childhood memories of shamanistic performances among Chinese laborers. And a family concert on Nov. 5 will include a short piece by Tan exploring “patterns of the sounds and colors found in nature.”

To complement these musical offerings, the Symphony has partnered with the Dunhuang Foundation to present a free virtual exhibit introducing the Mogao Caves, also at the Octave 9 space (Nov. 3-13). It’s a rare chance to pay a virtual visit to this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The exhibit uses immersive, 360-degree video technology (think IMAX) designed by Greg Downing of Hyperacuity and Eric Hanson of Blueplanet VR to give spectators an impression of the astounding experience of being in the caves.

“These are not art for art’s sake but sacred spaces of Buddhism,” says Mimi Gardner Gates, one of the foremost experts on Asian art and chair of the Dunhuang Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving and studying the Mogao Caves. It was Gates, a Seattle Symphony board member and former director of the Seattle Art Museum, who initially invited Tan to visit the site — “and it really changed my musical life,” asserts the composer.

“It’s a wonderful moment to increase Seattleites’ understanding of Chinese culture and the culture of the Silk Road,” Gates says. “Just as today is an era of globalization, the Silk Road routes encouraged an intersection of cultures, in which Dunhuang played a pivotal role.”

Tan, who was born in a village in Hunan province in 1957, lived through the trauma of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution and became one of the first composition students to attend the newly reopened Central Conservatory in Beijing. He left China to pursue graduate studies at Columbia University in 1986 and permanently settled in New York, though his engagements as a composer and conductor require frequent international travel.

Tan’s name became internationally famous with the success of Ang Lee’s 2000 film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which re-imagined the Chinese martial arts genre. Tan’s score, which featured performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, won an Oscar and a Grammy.

A signature of Tan’s artistic practice is to combine aspects of widely disparate cultures and outlooks — not only from Chinese and Western musical traditions but from styles or even eras assumed to be incompatible, such as timeless folk idioms side-by-side with avant-garde experiments. By suggesting a dialogue with the Passion narrative that is central to Christianity, “Buddha Passion” moreover boldly amalgamates elements from different religious perspectives.

“Creating art always involves different cultures bumping into each other and becoming something new,” Tan says.

Like the ancient Silk Road closely associated with the Mogao Caves, Tan’s musical world is a place of vivid intersections. “Buddha Passion” uses the apparatus of a Western orchestra and chorus, but he transforms Asian melodies and includes Chinese percussion instruments. The chorus and soloists variously represent the voice of the Buddha, whose leave-taking in the final act is presented not as a sorrowful tragedy, as Christ’s is in the Bach Passions, but an encouragement to those he leaves behind to awaken. 

One of the work’s six parts features a fan-tan pipa, a dancer who plays the pipa. An especially moving scene based on the “Heart Sutra” calls for a Mongolian throat singer (who accompanies himself on xiqin, an ancient two-string instrument). The libretto, too, which Tan crafted from original sources, weaves together Mandarin with some texts in ancient Sanskrit.

“What I find so intriguing about this work is that it showcases how you can bring so many cultures together and end up with something larger than what you began with,” observes Krishna Thiagarajan, Symphony president and CEO. “The world that we currently live in is one where political relationships between nations are fraught. Yet you see this expression of how much cultures have influenced each other over the centuries, and created this unbelievable work of beauty.” 

“I feel this music, and these stories, are very important, as this time is truly a time for West and East to become one home,” says Tan. “We must learn to share passion and compassion.”

“Buddha Passion” : Tan Dun conducts the Seattle Symphony and guest artists; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 and 8 p.m. Nov. 12; Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle; tickets from $41.

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Tan Dun | News | World-Premiere Recording of Tan Dun’s Monumental ‘Buddha Passion’ Set for Release on 4 August

World-premiere recording of tan dun’s monumental ‘buddha passion’ set for release on 4 august.

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How Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun's career was forged through tragedy and triumph

The chinese-american musician will perform his latest orchestral work, buddha passion, in the capital this weekend, as part of the abu dhabi festival.

Composer Tan Dun's latest work, Buddha Passion, aims to transmit the teachings of The Buddha. Getty Images

Composer Tan Dun's latest work, Buddha Passion, aims to transmit the teachings of The Buddha. Getty Images

Saeed Saeed author image

Amid the poised and traditional world of classical music, Chinese-American composer Tan Dun is something of a rock star.

He has composed symphonies and operas that have been performed in some of the world’s most renowned venues, from Milan’s La Scala Theatre to New York’s Metropolitan Opera House. He has also contributed the scores to six films, including 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , as well as several experimental multimedia projects.

Such breadth has brought him great rewards, including Oscar, Grammy and Bafta awards, as well as the accolade of Composer of Year, bestowed by classical music magazine Musical America .

The Abu Dhabi Festival is next in line to showcase Tan’s evocative work, with the regional premiere of his latest orchestral piece Buddha Passion .

To be performed at Emirates Palace on Saturday and unfolding across six acts, the powerful score will aims to transmit some of the Buddha's concepts of love, forgiveness, sacrifice and salvation.

Conducted by Tan and featuring a large cast including Chinese soprano Lei Xu and tenor Yi Li, as well as Italy's Orchestra Filarmonica del teatro Comunale di Modena, expect an elegiac and shimmering musical backdrop featuring operatic vocals weaved with Buddhist chants and stories.

According to Tan, Buddha Passion is the ideal entry point into his oeuvre as it plays to his strengths.

"I feel this piece was much clearer and easier for me. I have grown as a composer in that I am much more focused on my storytelling,” he told Opera Wire .

“ Buddha Passion is in six acts, six mini-operas, and six stories, very slim and clear. Quick and to the point. This kind of storytelling feels closer to stories told in film and less like those at an opera house. This is quite different for me from before.”

The work also marks the evolution of a fascinating journey stretching from the rice fields of Central China to the red carpets of Hollywood.

Tan's early years

Born in 1957 in a village near Changsha in the province of Hunan, Tan's early years were spent in relative comfort with his mother working as a doctor and his father employed at a food research institute.

That lifestyle was upended with Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, which began in 1966, and resulted in Tan's relocation to the nearby town of Huangjin in the early 1970s to work as a rice planter.

“Imagine … you were told to report to an office and made to swear to leave your family, to feed pigs, to plant rice, for your entire life,” he told The New York Times .

“I cried. How could I do this for my entire life? In fact, the required length of time depended on the purity of your thoughts.”

Tan’s stay proved to be relatively short lived after Zedong’s death in 1976 marked the end of the revolution.

Opportunity through tragedy

While music was strongly discouraged within the rice-planting communities, Tan learnt to play traditional Chinese string instruments with fellow residents and eventually joined an in-house ensemble.

But the transition from hobby to career came about through a tragic turn of events.

After several members of the Peking Opera drowned in a ferry accident, Tan was hired to work as the troupe's arranger and violinist.

The stint at Peking Opera proved successful and Tan gained the attention of Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music where he was accepted as a student in 1977.

Under the tutelage of composers such as Japan's Toru Takemitsu and Germany's Hans Werner Henze, he developed an expansive knowledge of eastern and western classical music, which he further explored pursuing a doctorate at New York's Columbia University.

Exposed to the works of experimental US composers such as Philip Glass and Meredith Monk, it was in New York that Tan began composing work fusing his signature mystic and abstract elements.

Settling in New York, Tan launched his international career through a series of contemporary operas.

In 1996 he composed Marco Polo , an abstract retelling of the 13th-century Venetian explorer's life, through eastern and western instruments such as the sitar, tabla, Tibetan horn and a string ensemble.

The cinematic quality of the work convinced Taiwanese director Ang Lee that Tan was the ideal composer to score his mystical martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon .

Performed by a range of Chinese companies including the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai National Orchestra, Tan's score featured numerous solo passages for cello played by Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma .

While the score's Oscar could have resulted in Tan focusing his efforts in the more lucrative world of Hollywood, he remained circumspect in his choice of film projects.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon remains his only Hollywood foray, with future scores composed for Chinese films including 2002's martial arts drama Hero and the 2006 period drama The Banquet.

Buddha Passion by Tan Dun will performed at Emirates Palace on Saturday at 8pm. Tickets, starting at Dh75, are available at abudhabifestival.ae

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Tan Dun: meet the composer of the 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' score

Chinese-American composer Tan Dun has come from humble origins to achieve global success, yet his concerns remain the same – balance, humanity and the natural world, writes Claire Jackson

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Claire Jackson

Best known for his score to the hugely popular 2000 martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Tan Dun is a Chinese-American composer and creator of some very adventurous soundworlds. Read on to learn more about this innovative composer.

Who is Tan Dun?

Tan Dun is a Chinese-American composer who is perhaps most famous for his colourful musical score to Ang Lee's seminal 2000 martial-arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . However, Tan's achievements as a composer extend far beyond that one moment in the spotlight.

In his music, Tan draws from various influences, both Chinese and Western. It's this dual musical identiry that has shaped much of his musical style and, indeed, his life and career.

He has worked with various of the world's best orchestras , and has received a number of awards including a Grawemeyer Award for his opera Marco Polo (1996) and both an Academy Award and Grammy Award for his film score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon .

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Tan Dun has written music across a variety of forms, including opera , orchestral , choral and song , chamber , solo and film scores . His compositions often use audiovisual elements, as well as instruments made from organic materials like stone, water and paper. They are often inspired by traditional Chinese theatrical and ritual performance.

What is Tan Dun's music like?

Dun’s musical language melds traditional Eastern timbres with Western orchestration, fusing formats and hybridising styles. The results range from the accessible – he won an Academy Award, a Grammy and a BAFTA for his score to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , the 2000 blockbuster film that brought historic martial arts to the masses – to complex contemporary works, such as the violin concertos (expertly played by Eldbjørg Hemsing; BIS2406).

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Works such as Eight Memories in Watercolour – a series of solo piano pieces – have introduced traditional Chinese melodies to Western audiences. Pianist Lang Lang included the set in an early Carnegie Hall recital alongside music by Mozart , Schumann , Haydn and others, recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. Meanwhile Heaven Earth Mankind , a symphony composed to mark the reunification of Hong Kong and China in 1997, mixed old and new instrumentation.

The diversity of sound echoes Dun’s varied life. ‘In Hunan I was barefoot,’ he says, ‘Coming to Europe seemed unthinkable back then. Now, I see a visit to London as a homecoming.’

Tan Dun and water

From the stirring sounds in the cadenza of the Water Passion to the splish-sploshing heard in the Water Music , liquid-based instruments provide literal splashes of colour to Dun’s timbral palette. Percussionists are often comfortable playing unusual materials – Gregor A. Mayrhofer’s Recycling Concerto features strummed plastic bags and poured bottle-tops; Mahler famously employed cowbells.

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But Evelyn Glennie faced unusual challenges when performing Dun’s atmospheric Water Concerto at the 2004 Proms, requiring a special waterproof outfit to protect both modesty and comfort as she struck a variety of basins and bowls. Large, timpani-sized vessels are sometimes lit from below, with sieves used to create drips and streams, making the water a visual as well as auditory feature of performances (see the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of the Water Concerto , with percussionist David Cossin and Dun as conductor, available on Opus Arte).

Dun’s fascination with watery textures goes back to his childhood in Hunan, where he lived with his grandmother after his parents were sent away during the Cultural Revolution. The composer recalls the central role the river played in everyday life – for washing, cooking and playing – and uses this elemental sound throughout his work. That was evident most recently in Five Souls , a work for water percussion, harp , brass, strings and digeridoo. The piece – including a movement called ‘H2O Tempo’ – has been recorded by the West East Orchestra, conducted by Dun, and is out via Decca.

How old is Tan Dun?

Born in 1957, Dun worked in the rice fields as a teenager, something that workers had to commit to for a lifetime. His backstory is as dramatic as his stage works (although with a happier ending than Marco Polo ).

When a local opera troupe lost members in a ferry disaster, they appeared in Dun’s village enquiring after musicians. Having taught himself the violin, Dun joined the ensemble, eventually travelling to Beijing to audition for the Central Conservatory of Music when it reopened after Chairman Mao’s death in 1976. There, he took inspiration from colleagues including Tōru Takemitsu, Chou Wen-chung and George Crumb .

What instruments does Tan Dun use?

As well as combining Eastern and Western instruments – for example, the pipa (a type of Chinese lute) with string quartet for 1994’s Ghost Opera , written for the Kronos Quartet ( one of the best string quartet ensembles of all time ) and Wu Man – Dun often creates instruments from unlikely objects. In a selection of works that are now referred to as ‘organic’ music, Dun uses water sounds, effects created from paper ( Paper Concerto ) and stones ( Earth Concerto ).

Percussion continues to be a focus in his latest piece The Tears of Nature , a concerto written to commemorate three natural disasters – the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, the Japanese tsunami in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012 – and released on Decca in 2023. ‘I think nature should be treated as a person,’ says Dun, who was named a Unesco ambassador in 2013. ‘When I see a rainy day, I think that nature is crying. A tide is nature breathing.’

What film scores has Tan Dun composed?

Tan Dun's most famous film score composition is, of course, for 2000's hugely successful martial arts drama Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . But he has also composed scores to films including Don't Cry, Nanking (1995), Fallen (1998), Hero (2002) and The Banquet (2010).

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Who taught Tan Dun?

In 1986, Dun moved to the US to undertake a doctorate at Columbia University. There, he became immersed in the worlds of Philip Glass , Steve Reich and John Cage, with whom he studied.

Isn’t it difficult for someone so inspired by the natural world to live in Manhattan? ‘I always look at the sky; I never get bored of it,’ says Dun. ‘My teacher [Cage] lived on one of the noisiest spots in New York – 6th Avenue on 26th Street.

'I asked why he lived there, and he described it as a treat, because it made you appreciate silence more. He said, “Silence is your permanent friend.”’

Hearing this story about Cage – an artist famous for his bold foregrounding of background noise – is a reminder of Dun’s contemporary music lineage. When Cage died in 1992, Dun composed C-A-G-E- , a solo piano piece almost exclusively using the notes that correspond to the composer’s name.

As Ralph van Raat writes in the sleeve note to his recent recording of the work, ‘These pitches sound strikingly Chinese, and they are most often plucked, strummed or muted, often using playing techniques from the stringed instrument, the pipa. The resulting overtones… transform a conventional piano into a surprisingly folkloric-sounding Chinese instrument.’

What was Tan Dun's Internet Symphony No. 1?

The contrasting sound exemplifies Dun’s approach – one that is often ahead of the curve. In 2008, Dun’s Internet Symphony No. 1, ‘Eroica’ was premiered online, with performers playing individual parts in locations around the world. It was the first time that musicians had played ensemble pieces in this way, and, as the work was commissioned by Google and YouTube, it was viewed with healthy scepticism.

Fast-forward 12 years, and the majority of choral, chamber and orchestral music making – whether it was amateur or professional – was undertaken via the internet. Dun’s composite of on-screen faces sending in their contributions across the ether is no longer a quirk; and, for two years, it was the norm.

There are many seemingly opposing ideas at work in Dun’s music – nature and humanity, East and West, ‘high and low’ culture – but the one he continues to return to is the balance between ancient and modern traditions.

‘During an English lesson many years ago, my teacher told me that anything with “r” was important because it was when old things become new,’ he says, ‘Return; retrospective; revolution – this “r” process is the basis for all my composition. There is no boundary between old and new.’

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  1. Tan Dun Tour Announcements 2023 & 2024, Notifications, Dates, Concerts

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  2. Tan Dun Concludes the 2021 Beijing Music Festival

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  4. Tan Dun: Buddha Passion at Benaroya Hall S. Mark Taper Foundation

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  6. Tan Dun’s ‘Martial Arts Trilogy’ at Lincoln Center

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COMMENTS

  1. Mendelssohn, Tan Dun, and Joel Thompson

    Mendelssohn was so taken with the history and landscape of Scotland that it inspired his Symphony No. 3, which is inflected with stylistic elements of Scottish dances. The program opens with a World Premiere by Joel Thompson, followed by NY Phil Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi as soloist in Tan Dun's concerto inspired by three ancient ...

  2. Tan Dun Tour Announcements 2023 & 2024, Notifications, Dates ...

    Find information on all of Tan Dun's upcoming concerts, tour dates and ticket information for 2023-2024. Unfortunately there are no concert dates for Tan Dun scheduled in 2023. Songkick is the first to know of new tour announcements and concert information, so if your favorite artists are not currently on tour, join Songkick to track Tan Dun ...

  3. Tan Dun: Yi2 (American Premiere) & Crouching Tiger Concerto

    Buy tickets to Tan Dun's Yi2 and Crouching Tiger Concerto. Ushering in the 2023 Chinese New Year with masterpieces by Tan Dun for cello, guitar, and orchestra. Key Notes: Academy and Grammy Award winning Chinese-American composer Tan Dun is a master of mood, melody, and mixing traditional Chinese and Western music.

  4. Tan Dun Concert Tickets, 2024 Tour Dates & Locations

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  5. Tan Dun

    Here you can find current tour dates, TV and radio dates from Tan Dun and can directly order tickets.

  6. Tan Dun

    Tan Dun's music is published by G. Schirmer, Inc and represented worldwide by Wise Music Group of Classical Companies. For more information on Tan Dun, please visit www.tandun.com. Buddha Passion vocal soloists, chorus, dunhuang, dancer and orchestra. Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women - Symphony for harp, 13 micro films, and orchestra harp ...

  7. Tan Dun

    As a conductor of innovative programs around the world, Tan Dun has led the China tours of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Japan's NHK Symphony Orchestra.His current season includes leading the Orchestre National de Lyon in a six-city China tour, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in a four-city tour of Switzerland and Belgium as well as engagements with the Rai National Symphony Orchestra ...

  8. Tan Dun

    Tan Dun currently serves as the Honorary Artistic Director of the China National Symphony Orchestra. Next season, he will conduct the English Chamber Orchestra in their tour of China. Tan Dun's individual voice has been heard widely by international audiences. His first Internet Symphony, which was commissioned by Google/YouTube, has reached ...

  9. Tan Dun

    Tan in 2011. Tan Dun (Chinese: 谭盾; pinyin: Tán Dùn, Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰǎn tu̯ə̂n]; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and music. Having collaborated with leading orchestras around the ...

  10. Tan Dun

    The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world's music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. A winner of today's most prestigious honours including the Grammy Award, Oscar/ Academy Award, Grawemeyer Award, Bach Prize ...

  11. Tan Dun Conducts

    The BSO's AAPI Festival is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Saturday, May 18, 2024 8:00PM Tan Dun Conducts Music Center at Strathmore Purchase Tickets. Sunday, May 19, 2024 3:00PM Tan Dun Conducts Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Purchase Tickets. BSO OffStage: Tan Dun Conducts Purchase Digital Access.

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    Conducted by Cathy ChanPerformed by the Sydney University Wind Orchestra, May 27th, 2023, at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

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  15. 'Crouching Tiger' composer Tan Dun gets a Seattle Symphony minifestival

    A transformative encounter in cave temples inspired Tan Dun, who will conduct his epic "Buddha Passion" as part of a Seattle Symphony minifestival of his works Nov. 3-13.

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    Tan Dun Contrabass Concerto: Wolf Totem Tan Dun Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds Stravinsky The Firebird Suite. Tan Dun conductor Yida An IAP '24 violin Milad Daniari TŌN '18 bass. Tickets. Start at $25; Health & Safety Requirements. buy tickets. Part of TŌN's Rose Theater series.

  17. Tan Dun

    The epic work was inspired by a visit to the vast myriad of ancient caves containing countless musical murals in the Dunhuang desert. Tan Dun explains that "these musical paintings depict more than four thousand musical instruments, three thousand musicians and five hundred orchestras.I was so deeply moved that I could almost hear the sounds emanating from the murals."

  18. How Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun's career was forged through tragedy

    Settling in New York, Tan launched his international career through a series of contemporary operas. In 1996 he composed Marco Polo, an abstract retelling of the 13th-century Venetian explorer's life, through eastern and western instruments such as the sitar, tabla, Tibetan horn and a string ensemble. The cinematic quality of the work convinced ...

  19. Tan Dun Concert Tickets, 2024 Tour Dates & Locations

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  21. Composer Tan Dun: 'I wanted to be a western shaman, the conductor of a

    In 1973, the Philadelphia Orchestra toured to China playing Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and Tan Dun was enchanted. "The window of China opened on to the world," he says. "During the ...

  22. Tan Dun: meet the composer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

    Tan Dun: meet the composer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Chinese-American composer Tan Dun went from humble origins to global success, yet his concerns - balance, humanity, nature - remain the same.

  23. Composer Tan Dun: 'When I was very young I was sort of a genius actually'

    Tan Dun is one of the most celebrated composers alive. He's composed scores for vastly successful films, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (for which he won an Oscar), and the music for ...