Podcasts about Tan Dun

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. On tonight's edition of Obbligato on APEX Express, which focuses on AAPI artists, musicians, and composers in the classical music world, host Isabel Li is joined by LA based performer and composer Richard An, who plays and creates new avant-garde music, usually with the ensemble House on Fire, and his music has been performed by the LA Phil and the Calder Quartet to name a few. Join us in our conversation, exploring the possibilities of avant-garde music, raising questions regarding Asian identities in the classical music world, and Richard's insights on art making during a time when Trump's cuts to the NEA are affecting artists and institutions nationwide. Featured Music: Sonatrinas: https://richardan.bandcamp.com/album/sonatrinas i got the electroshock blues: https://rasprecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-got-the-electroshock-blues   RICHARD AN (b.1995) is a performer and composer, born and raised in Los Angeles. Richard plays new music – usually with House on Fire – co-founded the tiny backpack new music series, and has performed with Monday Evening Concerts' Echoi Ensemble, Piano Spheres, The Industry and on Bang on a Can's LOUD Weekend. Richard plays piano and percussion, and has been known to sing, conduct, and teach. Richard's music has been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Calder Quartet, HOCKET, C3LA, and more. His music has been released on CMNTX Records. Richard has a BM in Composition from USC and an MFA from CalArts. He is on faculty at the Pasadena Waldorf School, Glendale Community College and Harvard-Westlake. He plays taiko and tabla, and makes YouTube videos. Learn more about Richard's work on his website: https://richardanmusic.com/ Richard's social media: https://www.instagram.com/richardanmusic/ If you are in LA and want hear Richard's work, he's playing with House on Fire at the Sierra Madre Playhouse on August 17! https://www.sierramadreplayhouse.org/event/richardan2025   Transcript Opening: [00:00:00] APEX Express. Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the APEX Express. 00:00:46 Isabel Li Good evening and welcome back to a new episode of Apex Express on KPFA, 94.1 FM. We are bringing you an Asian and Asian American view from the Bay and around the world. I'm your host, Isabel Li, and tonight is a new edition of Obbligato, which explores AAPI identities and classical music. Tonight I'm joined by LA based performer and composer Richard An, who plays and creates new avant-garde music, usually with the ensemble House on Fire, and his music has been performed by the LA Phil and the Calder Quartet to name a few. Join us in our conversation, exploring the possibilities of avant-garde music, raising questions regarding Asian identities in the classical music world, and Richard's insights on art making during a time when Trump's cuts to the NEA are affecting artists and institutions nationwide. 00:01:41 Isabel Li Welcome to the show. Welcome to APEX Express, Richard. My first question for you is how do you identify and what communities would you say that you're a part of? 00:01:50 Richard An My name is Richard An I use he/him pronouns and I'm a second generation Korean American. My parents are both Korean. My dad came from Busan, which is a large city in South Korea, and my mom was born in Seoul and then moved to South America and then made her way up to Los Angeles where they met. And as for identity, like, I think Korean American would be the most accurate one. This is and I think an ever evolving part of first of all my identity and the way that it intersects with my practice and also I think that's the case with many Asian American artists, I mean artists from immigrant families, you know, the the matter of your identity, especially if you feel more distanced from it for one reason or another, is like an unsolved question for everyone like there is no one answer. That works for people and that's a thing that me people like myself I think will be exploring for our entire lives. When I introduce myself to people, I say that I'm a classical musician. And at the very core of it, that is true. That's not a lie. And I am, you know, a part of the classical music community in Los Angeles. But as time goes on, I have noticed and realized. That I tend to align myself more with like the avant-garde and experimental contemporary music communities of Los Angeles, which has certainly an overlap with the classical community, both in practice and historically, but yeah, I I would say those are the sort of two biggest ones, classical musicians and experimental avant-garde, contemporary musicians, whatever label you want to use for that. 00:03:47 Isabel Li Yeah. Some of our listeners might not know what avant-garde music entails. Can you — how would you describe avant-garde music to someone who might not be as familiar with this particular movement? 00:03:57 Richard An Yeah. So avant-garde music, a sort of flippant and joking way to to talk about it is ugly music or music. You know, my dad, for example, wouldn't like, but I think. It's music that either interfaces with elements or confronts facets or issues in music that aren't typical of other kinds of music. The music that you might hear that is labeled of on guard might be noisy or dissonant or uncomfortable, or any kind of, you know, adjectives that are synonyms for noisy or ugly, but I have come to love that kind of music, you know 1. Because of the the kind of questions that they might ask about our perceptions of music and two, because I guess one way to put it is that to be a classical musician, you need to be in a practice room for many hours a day for many years and go to what is unfortunately a college, which is usually very expensive and I guess for lack of a better term, paywalled for like you need to have the kind of resources that allow you to attend a four year undergrad and then a two year masters and then a three-year doctorate. But avant-garde music, contemporary music, experimental music doesn't necessitate that kind of thing. Often those musicians do have a background that gives them some amount of, you know, virtuosity or facility in an instrument. But like some of the best experimental musicians. Alive and some of the best ones that I know have no, like extensive training in a particular instrument and some may not have a degree in music at all. And that's one thing that I in like that separates it from classical music is that. 00:05:44 Richard An Classical music can be, unfortunately a little bit exclusionary. I don't think by any one specific design, but the fact that you need so many hours and very specific instructions from a mentor that necessitate that kind of relationship. But experimental music, I think does a little bit better job of diversifying or making it feel more equitable. 00:06:12 Isabel Li That's a great point, actually. One of my questions following up with that was what do you think is possible with this genre, which you kind of mentioned earlier with perhaps how this genre makes classical music a little bit more equitable for those who are interested in this field. In your experience, composing, what do you think makes the genre special, and how do you go about it? 00:06:35 Richard An One thing that I've noticed about being involved in the sort of contemporary experimental avant-garde music sphere is that it makes me a better listener, and I think other people who attend these concerts will agree. Like for example a large part of this kind of music is drone or repetition or, you know, like long spans of unchanging sound. And if the the sound that is being produced at face value is not changing, well then what do you notice about it? What do you grab on to and one of the most, I think, gratifying experiences is listening deeper and realizing that, ohh, even though you know for example this piano playing two notes for 30 minutes might not like the instructions will say to do the same thing for 30 minutes, but your experience as a human being will certainly change over those 30 minutes, even if the the notes are not like you will notice the slight fluctuations in the way that someone is playing, you will notice the beating patterns in the pitches on an instrument that may not be perfectly in tune, you will note other ambient sounds, you will note like you will notice so much more about the world when you are confronted with the kind of music that you know. You can say it forces you to listen to these sounds but also invites you to listen to these things. And I think that's really, really special. That's not to say that that can't happen with other kinds of music. Or even with classical music. Surely you know there are many, many ways to listen to everything. But I've noticed this within myself. When I listen to long, repetitive drone based music that it really opens my ears and makes me a more active participant as a listener. 00:08:30 Isabel Li It's a great point actually. Part of my work– because I studied music, history and theory in college– was how music can engage various listeners to participate. Have you composed anything that perhaps engages the listener in this more of a participatory setting? 00:08:47 Richard An Yeah. So I guess in order the some of the stuff that I've done to engage the audience, I guess both literally, and maybe more figuratively is, I wrote a piece last year for the Dog Star festival, which is a a contemporary and experimental music festival that is actually happening right now, at the time of this recording. It's a multi week long festival that focuses on music of this type that was founded by people in the sort of CalArts music world. But I wrote a piece for that last year for three melodicas, which are these basically toy instruments that look like keyboards, but you blow into them and you blowing air through these makes the sound happen. It's basically like if you cross a harmonica and a piano together. But I I wrote a piece for three of these, playing essentially the same notes. And because these instruments are pretty cheap, and they're often considered toys or, you know, instruments for children, they're not tuned to the exact way that, like a piano or a vibraphone or an expensive instrument might be. But I wanted to use that for my advantage. For example, if I play an F# on one melodica the same F# on another melodica will not be exactly the same and playing those two pitches together will produce what's known as a a beat or beat frequency. Which is, you know, a complicated, you know, mathematic physics thing, but basically 2 notes that are really, really close, but not quite together will create a kind of third rhythm because the the pitches are so close. Like, for example, if if I play an A at 4:40 and another A at 441, you will notice that difference of 1 Hertz inside of your ears. And that's a really cool phenomenon that happens explicitly because you were there listening to the piece. They don't happen necessarily, you know, like in, in recorded formats like, it's a very difficult thing to capture unless you are in the room with these instruments. And the fact that we had this audience of, let's say, 40 people meant that all forty of these people were experiencing these beat frequencies and another really cool factor of this is depending on where you are located in the room. With the way that the beats will sound in your ears are different and purely by the fact of acoustics like a wave bouncing off of the wall over on your left, will feel really different if you are closer or further from that wall. So not only do the audiences ears themselves, you know, invite these this this participation, but the pure physicality of each listener means that they will have a very slightly different experience of what the piece is, and again like this will happen in any concert. If you're at a classical show, if you're at a rock show if, if you're further from the stage, if you're further to the left or right, you will get a slightly different position in the stereo field that the musicians are playing in, but pieces like what I wrote and many others that exist emphasize this kind of like acoustic phenomena. That is really, really fascinating to listen to. 00:12:23 Isabel Li That's fascinating. And to get a sense of Richard's work, we'll be hearing coming up next. The short excerpt from his album Sonatrinas. This is the duo excerpt performed by Wells Leng, Katie Aikam, Kevin Good and composer Richard An himself. [COMP MUSIC: Sonatrinas (Excerpt: Duo)] 00:17:38 Richard An And so the back story for this piece is this was written for one of my recitals at CalArts. I was planning on playing this piece by Michael Gordon called Sonatra, which is a really, really beautiful and difficult piece for solo piano that I gave myself as an assignment, which I was not able to do with the amount of time. And, you know, like I just didn't give myself enough time to do this thing, so I still had this program of several pieces written with the idea of having this Michael Gordon Sonatra in the middle, but now that that sort of middle part was gone, there was a bunch of pieces about a piece that didn't exist. So in order to fill that hole, I wrote this piece called Sonatrinas which is a cheeky nod to the Michael Gordon Sonatra, but also to the fact that each part of this is kind of a diminutive Sonata form. Everything has a sort of ABA– here's some idea. Here's a different idea, and now we go back to that first idea. Every single part of this has a little bit of that in it. 00:18:51 Isabel Li Yeah, that's fascinating. Even the name itself reminds me of Sonata form in classical music, where it's kind of like an ABA section. As you sort of talked about earlier. And it's really cool that you're adapting this in a more avant-garde context. This is a reminder you're listening to Apex Express. Today we are interviewing composer and musician Richard An. 00:19:12 Isabel Li I think the general question that I have next is can you tell me a bit about what drew you to music and how you got your start in music, how you got introduced to it and what things have inspired you over the years? 00:19:24 Richard An Yeah. So a real quick sort of, I guess, history of my involvement with music is that I started piano lessons when I was pretty young, either three or four years old. I continued that until I was 12 or 13. I decided I really wanted to become a musician. I started taking composition lessons with this composer, AJ McCaffrey, who is really responsible for a lot of what I know and my successes, if you can call it that. He got me into a lot of the music that I am into now and set the foundation for what I would study and what I would write he was one of the instructors for this program called the LA Phil Composer Fellowship program, which back when I was a participant from 2011 to 2013, was a program hosted by the Los Angeles Philharmonic that took 4 high school age students every two years. And you know, they they taught us, you know, everything. How a young composer needs to know how instruments work, how to write a score, how to talk to musicians, how to do everything that a that a composer needs to learn how to do and at the end of this program, after the two years the young composers write a piece for the at the LA Philharmonic. So I was extremely lucky that by the age of 17 I was able to write a piece for orchestra and get that played and not just any orchestra, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, you know, undisputedly one of the best orchestras in the world. Right. And then after that I I went to USC for my undergrad and then went to CalArts for my masters. And then here we are now. And that those are sort of the like, you know if someone writes a biography about me, that's what we'll be, you know, involved in the thing. But I really started to develop my love for music in my freshman and sophomore year. In high school I I started to get into more and more modern composers. I started to get into more and more noisy things and a lot of this coincided actually with the passing of my mother. She died when I was 14 and you know that in any human the death of a parent will cause you to reevaluate and rethink aspects of your life. Things that you thought were certainties will not be there anymore. So for me, I stopped taking piano lessons and I sort of went headfirst into composition and which is why my degrees are specifically in composition and not piano. Had my mother's passing not happened, you know, who knows what I would be doing now? Maybe I'm not a composer at all. Maybe I'm not into avant-garde music at all, but because things happen the way that they did, I suddenly took a quick turn into avant-garde music and my involvement there only grew more and more and more. Until you know where I am today, I'm almost 30 years old, so I've been listening to and a participant of this music for maybe 15 years or so and I'm quite happy. 00:22:43 Isabel Li That's awesome to hear. 00:22:45 Isabel Li And perhaps a testament to Richard one's very versatile compositional style and avant-garde music coming up next are three pieces from his album i got the electroshock blues. There are five pieces in the album in total, but we will be hearing three of them. The first one called “feeling, scared today,” the second one, “pink pill,” and the fifth one, “la la.” [COMP MUSIC: i got the electroshock blues: 1. “feeling, scared today”, 2. “pink pill”, 3. “la la”.] 00:36:41 Richard An Earlier last year, I released a collection of live recordings under the title of I got the Electroshock Blues. Electroshock Blues is a song by the band Eels I encountered at a pivotal moment in my life. This was right around the time that my mother passed and this record and this song is heavily centered in grief. The main musician in the Eels, Mark Oliver Everett, was dealing with the passing of multiple family members and people who were close to him so it hit me in just the right way at just the right time. And because of that, this song specifically has stayed with me for many, many years. I found myself coming back to the contents of this song as I was composing and all the pieces on this album, of which there are 5 heavily take material from this song, whether that's words, chords, the melody. I really, you know, take it apart, dissect it and use those as ingredients in the pieces that I have written here and all of these are live recordings except for the first piece which was recorded in my studio. I just sort of overdubbed the parts myself, and there are credits in the liner notes for this album, but I just want to say that. The first piece which is called “feeling, scared today,” was originally written for the Hockett piano duo, which is a duo comprised of Thomas Kotcheff and Sarah Gibson. Sarah Gibson was a really close friend of mine who passed away last year and now this piece which in some way came out of a feeling of grief now has renewed meaning and another facet or aspect of this piece is centered in grief now. Because this was dedicated to Thomas and Sarah. Yeah. So these pieces are all derived from this one song. 00:38:57 Isabel Li That's a beautiful response. Thank you so much. Kind of following along your background and how you got to where you are. How do you think your identity has informed your work as a composer and musician? And this could be– you can interpret this in any way that you wish. 00:39:11 Richard An Yeah, this is a really interesting question. The question of how my identity interfaces with my music. In my art, particularly because no person's answer is quite the same, and I don't necessarily have this figured out either. So for a little bit of I guess for a little bit of context on me, I'm second generation Korean American, but I've never been to Korea and I never went to Korean school. My parents never really emphasize that part of my education. You could call it assimilation. You can call it whatever, but I think they valued other aspects of my growth than my explicit tie to Koreanness or, you know my specific identity as a Korean or Korean American, and because of that, I've always felt a little bit awkwardly distanced from that part of my identity, which is something that I will never be completely rid of. So in in a world and the field where whiteness is sort of the default part you know, particularly because you know, classical music does come from Europe, you know, for hundreds of years, like all of the development in this particular kind of music did happen in a place where everyone was white. So because of that background of where I come from and where my musical activity comes from, whiteness has been the default and still feels like it is. So me looking the way that I do as, an obvious not white person, as a person of color will always have a little bit of an outsider status to the thing. And with that comes the question of what are you bringing to classical music? What do you bring to the kind of music that you're creating? Like for example, the most I think the most well known East Asian composers are people like Toru Takemitsu or Tan Dun, people who will interface with their Asianness, in many different ways, but that often involves bringing, for example, a Japanese scale into your classical composition, or bringing a Japanese instrument into your classical composition. Those are, you know, examples of of of pieces by Toru Takemitsu, and other, you know, very successful. Asian American composers now may do similarly. Texu Kim is maybe someone who can also give insight into this, but nothing about me feels explicitly Korean, maybe besides the way that I look. And besides, the way that I grew up a little bit like I've never been to Korea. What right does that give me as a Korean, to for example, use a Korean instrument or use a Korean scale? I've never studied that music. I've never studied that culture. I in in some arguments I would be guilty of cultural appropriation, because I, you know, have not done the work to study and to properly represent. And for example, like Pansori, if I were to use that in any of my music. 00:42:46 Richard An But then the the the difficult question is well, then who does have the right? Does being Korean give me all the license that I need to incorporate aspects of my identity? And if I am not Korean, does that, does that bar my access to that kind of music forever? Another way of looking at this is, I've studied North Indian Classical Hindustani music for a while. I've played tabla and and studied that music at CalArts and I really, really love playing tabla. It's it doesn't make its way into my composition so much, but it is certainly a big part of my musicianship and who I am and, like, but am I barred from using ideas or aspects of that music and culture and my music because simply for the fact that I am not Indian? Many musicians would say no. Of course you've done your homework, you've done your research. You're doing due diligence. You're you're representing it properly. And many people who study this music will say music cannot go forward if it's not like the innervated and continued and studied by people like me who are not explicitly South Asian or Indian. That's an example of the flip side of this of me using or representing the music from a culture that I am not a part of, but again, am I really Korean? I've never been there. I wasn't born there. I speak the language conversationally. But this is an extremely long winded way of saying that I feel a tenuous connection to my Korean this my Korean American identity that hasn't been solved, that isn't solved and probably will never be completely solved. But I think that's exciting. I think that's an evolving aspect of my music and will continue to be that way as long as I continue to be involved in music and as as long as I continue to write. 00:45:05 Isabel Li Yeah, absolutely. That's a wonderful response. Actually. I was, as I was studying different types of world music and learning how people kind of borrow from different cultures. There is this always, this kind of question like ohh, like which types of musical elements from which cultures can I incorporate and obviously the aspects of personal identity definitely play into that a little bit. And part of my senior thesis in college was studying AAPI artists in classical music, and specifically that there are a lot of Asian-identifying musicians in the classical music world. But as you kind of mentioned earlier, I think classical music is very much still like grounded in whiteness and has this kind of air of elitism to it just because of its roots. How do you think this kind of identity intersects with the classical music world? And forgive me if you've already kind of talked about it before, but it's an interesting juxtaposition between like, for example, musicians who identify as AAPI or Asian in this kind of genre that is very– it's very associated with whiteness. Could you kind of talk about the dynamics of how these two aspects of like culture kind of interplay with one another? 00:46:26 Richard An Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, there are ways that I personally feel like I intersect with classical music with reference to my identity, and that also plays with the sort of cultural expectations, like there are stereotypes of Asian musicians, of Asian classical musicians. But there are not necessarily the same the same kind of stereotypes with white classical musicians. A very dominant like stereotype that you'll run into is the young Asian prodigy who practices 10 hours a day and may therefore be labeled as mechanical or unfeeling or, you know, are involved in in this a lot. So much so to the fact to the to the point where to excel an Asian American classical musician or as an Asian classical musician, in general, seems to always carry that stereotype. Like you know, Seong-Jin Cho's success as a pianist may not necessarily be attributed to his musicianship or his skill as a pianist. Because he is an Asian person, an Asian guy. Like how much of his success is because of the perceived tiger mom-ness that he might have existed under? How much of it is attributed to the same type of stereotypes that are labeled like that that label the five year old pianist on YouTube that that is clearly better than I am? Like some of these stereotypes help and some of these don't, but the I think it's undeniable that they exist in a way that doesn't in a way that doesn't carry for white people in the classical music sphere. And I think part of that is that classical music is still rooted in its Eurological identity. I think I'm using that correctly. That's an idea from George Lewis. Eurological versus Afrological. The context that I'm using Eurological right now is specifically in reference to George Lewis, who is a composer, trombonist, and musicologist who, I think coined the two terms to differentiate the roots of different styles of music, and you know, I haven't read enough to confidently say, but classical music is Eurological by example and like jazz would be Afrological by an example and the contexts in which they develop and exist and grew up are fundamentally different, which is what makes them different from each other. And again like this needs a little bit more research on my part. 00:49:23 Richard An Yeah, and because the classical music is so rooted in this thing, I don't believe that the stereotypes that exist for Asian classical musicians exist for white people. And I think that is something that will naturally dissipate with time, like after another 100 years of Asians, and, you know, people of color in, you know, every country in the world, with their continued involvement and innova otypes will disappear like this. You know, it may require certain concerted efforts from certain people, but I do believe that after a while these things will not exist. They'll sort of equalize right in the same way. That the divisions that we make between a Russian pianist and a French pianist and a German pianist, though you know people still do study those things like those aren't really dividing lines quite as strong as an Asian composer or an Indian composer might be. 00:50:27 Isabel Li Thank you for that perspective. I think it's, I think these are conversations that people don't kind of bring up as much in the classical music world and it's great that, you know, we're kind of thinking about these and probably possibly like opening some conversations up to our listeners hopefully. And so my next kind of pivot here is as you know with our current administration, Trump has canceled millions of dollars in National Endowment of the Arts grants, and it's been affecting arts organizations all over the nation. And I was kind of wondering, have you been affected by these cuts to arts programs and what kinds of advice would give upcoming musicians or composers in this era? 00:51:07 Richard An Yeah, that's a yeah, that's a big thing. And like, you know, changing day by day, right. So the Trump administration's effects on my life as a musician is simultaneously huge and also not really that much. So in one way these grant cuts have not affected my personal musical life because I haven't ever received a government grant for any of my arts making. So in one way like my life is the same, but in many, many, many other ways it has changed. Like I am involved with and I work with concert series and organizations and nonprofits that do rely on NEA funding and other government arts based funding. And if they have less money to fund their next season, that means certain projects have to be cut. That means certain musicians have to be paid less. That means certain programs have to change, especially if these funding cuts are aimed towards DEI or quote and quote, woke programming like that is, you know this that will by design disproportionately affect people of color in this field, which already you know, like is in a Eurocentric urological tradition like this is already something that people of color don't have a head start in if the funding cuts are aimed at certain types of programming that will disadvantage already disadvantaged groups of people, well then I don't know, that's even–we're starting even later than other people might be, and you know, like, if a musicians, if a person's reaction to this is despair, I think that's reasonable. I think that is an absolutely, like that's an appropriate reaction to what is fundamentally an attack on your voice as an artist. But I I have for as long as I can, you know, I have always worked under the impression that I will have to do the thing myself, and that's in the piece of advice that I give for a lot of people. You shouldn't necessarily wait for this ensemble to come pick you to play or or to to, you know, commission you to write a piece if you want to write the piece, you should do it and figure out how to put it on yourself. If you want to perform you know music by a certain composer, you should do it and then figure out how to do it yourself. That certainly comes from a place of privilege, like I can do this because I have enough work as a musician to be able to pay for the the passion projects it comes from a place of privilege, because I live in Los Angeles and the resources and musicians and other people who I would like to collaborate with live here, so you know, completely acknowledging and understanding that I I do believe that it's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. I think if you're a young musician and are feeling some despair about these funding cuts and you know the many, many, many other transgressions against humanity by this current administration. 00:54:38 Richard An I recommend you just go out and do it yourself. You find your people, you find your community, you pull favors, you work long nights and you do it and the reward will firstly be the good you're putting out into the world and then the the art you're making. But also this will be paid in kind by the community you're building, the musicians you're working with. And the the connections you make like you know I I have, I am currently conducting this interview from a studio space that I am renting out in Pasadena that I have built over the last two years that I do all of my rehearsals and my performances in, and that I, you know, host rehearsals and performances for other people, and this cannot happen and could not have happened without the goodwill and help and contribution from other people. When I say go out and do it yourself, I'm not saying that you as a human being are alone. I'm saying you don't need to wait for institutional approval or permission to go out and do these things. Get your friends and do them themselves. And my optimistic belief is that the support and the work will follow. 00:55:53 Isabel Li Richard, thank you so much for sharing your perspectives and your voice on this show today. And thank you to our many listeners of KPFA on tonight's episode of Obbligato on Apex Express. Which focuses on the AAPI community of the classical music world. There were some inspirational words on arts and arts making by Richard An musician and composer based in Los Angeles. 00:56:18 Isabel Li Please check our website kpfa.org to find out more about Richard An and his work as well as the state of the arts during this period of funding cuts. 00:56:29 Isabel Li We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world, your voices and your art are important. 00:56:41 Isabel Li APEX Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by Isabel Li. Have a great evening. The post APEX Express – 8.7.25 – Obbligato with Richard An appeared first on KPFA.

We're celebrating Earth Day with performances that celebrate our natural world. Up first, a young oboist performs a piece inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings of jimson weed and speaks about volunteering in a community garden. We also meet a teen pianist who performs Tan Dun's colorful homage to the Chinese countryside and a composer who connects with nature through the study of insects and shares a work inspired by the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week we are discussing the 2002 wuxia epic: Hero (英雄). Join us as we talk about the stunning visuals, colorful chapters, understanding martial arts films, political readings, Indy's love of Tony Leung (and most of the cast, really), Chinese history, and a bunch of other things I've already forgotten.   I Love This You Should Too is hosted by Samantha and Indy Randhawa   Hero (Chinese: 英雄; pinyin: Yīngxióng) is a 2002 wuxia martial arts film[3] directed, co-written, and produced by Zhang Yimou, and starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen and Chen Daoming.[4] The cinematography was by Christopher Doyle, and the musical score composed by Tan Dun. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 75th Academy Awards. The historical background of the film refers to the Warring States Period in ancient China, when China was divided into seven states. In 227–221 BC, the Qin state was about to unify the other six states, assassins from the six states were sent to assassinate the king of Qin. One of the most famous incidents was Jing Ke's attempted assassination of the King of Qin.

Indy reviews Paul Tremblay's horror books including; A Head Full of Ghosts, Disappearance at Devil's Rock, Horror Movie, & others, Samantha recommends the historical fiction of To the Bone by Alena Bruzas, and we preview next week's deep dive, the 2002 Wuxia Historical epic: Hero!  I Love This You Should Too is hosted by Samantha & Indy Randhawa   Paul Gaetan Tremblay  is an American author and editor of horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction. His most widely known novels include A Head Full of Ghosts, The Cabin at the End of the World, and Survivor Song. He has won multiple Bram Stoker Awards and is a juror for the Shirley Jackson Awards.   Hero (Chinese: 英雄; pinyin: Yīngxióng) is a 2002 wuxia martial arts film directed, co-written, and produced by Zhang Yimou, and starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen and Chen Daoming. The cinematography was by Christopher Doyle, and the musical score composed by Tan Dun. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 75th Academy Awards.

durée : 01:00:14 - Tan Dun, héros malgré lui - par : Laurent Vilarem - En octobre, Tan Dun effectue une large tournée française avec l'Orchestre symphonique national de Chine. Aux côtés du musicologue Jacques Amblard, Création Grand Format se penche sur le parcours riche et complexe du compositeur chinois, véritable star de la musique contemporaine - réalisé par : Céline Parfenoff

Tim Hankewich is back and with him for his culture crawl debut is Orchestra Iowa's new CEO, Eric Marshall. The orchestra's second Masterwork of the season was inspired by cellist Philip Bergman and the music of Tan Dun's Crouching Tiger Cencerto for Cello & Orchestra. If you're familiar with the martial arts film Crouching Tiger … Continue reading

Un sistema di scrittura unico chiamato Nu Shu, compreso solo dalle donne, è stato usato per secoli in un gruppo di piccoli villaggi nella provincia di Hunan, nel sud della Cina. È stato sviluppato dalle donne contadine in un momento in cui alle ragazze veniva negata l'istruzione formale. La sua scrittura consiste di circa 700 caratteri fonetici, rispetto alle migliaia di caratteri ideografici cinesi. Nu Shu è scritto con delicate linee curve e inclinate, che Yang Yueqing, un regista che ha documentato Nu Shu, descrive come “molto femminile e bello, … anche estremamente grafico perché è stato tessuto in stoffa e ricamato come modelli”, riporta il Sunday Times di Londra. Le donne hanno registrato le tradizioni popolari ed espresso il loro destino nella vita in canzoni e poesie scritte in Nu Shu. Dopo che alle donne fu concessa l'uguaglianza in Cina nel 1949, l'uso del Nu Shu cominciò a diminuire. Yang Huany, l'ultima donna che scriveva correntemente questa lingua, abitante nella contea di Jiangyong, è deceduta il 20 settembre 2004, all'età di 96-98 anni. La lingua Nu Shu e il luogo in cui si parlava hanno attratto investimenti stranieri per la costruzione di infrastrutture in possibili siti turistici e una sovvenzione di 209.000 $ dalla Fondazione Ford per costruire un museo tematico che avrebbe dovuto aprire nel 2007. Il compositore cinese Tan Dun ha creato una sinfonia multimediale intitolata Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women per arpa, orchestra e 13 microfilm. Tan Dun ha trascorso cinque anni conducendo ricerche sul campo nella provincia di Hunan, documentando su pellicola le varie canzoni che le donne usano per comunicare. Quelle canzoni diventano una terza dimensione per la sua sinfonia e sono proiettate insieme all'orchestra e all'arpista solista.

Das Bundesjugendorchester ist auf Sommertournee, mit Beethovens Neunter und einem neuen Werk des Star-Komponisten Tan Dun. International berühmt geworden ist Tan Dun unter anderem mit seiner Musik zum Blockbuster „Tiger and Dragon“. In seinen Werken verbindet westliche und östliche Klangwelten.

The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) continues its mission to broaden public appreciation for music beyond Western classical traditions, through the upcoming concert, Celestial Serenade. The concert celebrates Chinese classical music, highlighting the suona, a significant woodwind instrument in Chinese culture. Led by Jebat Arjuna Kee, the MPO collaborates with renowned suona performer Liu Wenwen to present Gong Guotai's Hundred Birds Worshipping the Phoenix and Ode to Kylin by Kong Zhixuan, alongside Tan Dun's Crouching Tiger Concerto featuring cellist Dylan Lee and other compositions such as Li Minxiong's Flying Dragon Leaping Tiger and Zhu Jianer's Sketches in the Mountains of Guizhou. We speak to cello soloist Dylan Lee, to find out more.

We're celebrating Earth Day with performances that celebrate our natural world. Up first, a young oboist performs a piece inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings of jimson weed and speaks about volunteering in a community garden. We also meet a teen pianist who performs Tan Dun's colorful homage to the Chinese countryside and a composer who connects with nature through the study of insects and shares a work inspired by the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Con Mario Mora | El 10 de febrero comenzó el nuevo año chino. Es el año del dragón de madera, que representa el poder, la nobleza y la buena fortuna. Con compositores, artistas, músicos e instrumentos chinos nos unimos a estas celebraciones y nos mimetizamos con la cultura china para disfrutar de estas celebraciones. Disfruta del sonido del guquin, de la música de Tan Dun, de la maestría de Lang Lang e incluso de inspiraciones chinas en compositores europeos. Una selección musical sorprendente que esperamos que disfrutes con nosotros.

Today, a piano recital from Samuel Lam presenting works by Domenico Scarlatti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, and Tan Dun. The post Encore broadcast | Samuel Lam, 18, piano appeared first on WFMT.

El grueso del trabajo de la compositora de Helsinki formada en Darmstadt y París son obras de cámara con un énfasis en el timbre y el uso de la electrónica a partir de instrumentos tradicionales, sobre todo de la cultura nórdica y oriental._____Has escuchadoIo (1986-1987). Avanti Chamber Orchestra; Jukka-Pekka Saraste, director. Finlandia Records (1989)“L'Amour de loin. Si tu t'appelles Amour”. Sanna Phillips, soprano; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Susanna Mälkki, directora. YouTube Vídeo. Publicado por Metropolitan Opera, 8 de diciembre de 2016: [Vídeo]Nymphéa: For String Quartet and Electronics (1987). Meta4 Quartet. Ondine (2013)Verblendungen (1982-1984). Avanti Chamber Orchestra; Jukka-Pekka Saraste, director. Finlandia Records (1989)_____Selección bibliográficaANDERSON, Julian, “Seductive Solitary. Julian Anderson Introduces the Work of Kaija Saariaho”. The Musical Times, vol. 133, n.º 1798 (1992), pp. 616-619*BATTIER, Marc y Gilbert Nouno, “L'électronique dans l'opéra de Kaija Saariaho, L'Amour de loin”. Musurgia, vol. 10, n.º 2 (2003), pp. 51-59*COHEN-LEVINAS, Danielle, “Entretien avec Kaija Saariaho”. Cahiers de l'Ircam, n.º 2(1993), pp. 13-41DÍAZ DE LA FUENTE, Alicia, “El sonido de Kaija Saariaho”. Música: Revista del Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, n.º 23 (2016), pp. 153-164*DÍAZ JÉREZ, Salvadora, Nuevas perspectivas sonoras. K. Saariaho y los enfoques de creación contemporáneos. Estudio de tres obras del siglo XXI: L'Amour de loin, Aile du songe y Notes on Light. Tesis doctoral, Universidad de La Laguna, 2016EVERETT, Yayoi Uno, Reconfiguring Myth and Narrative in Contemporary Opera: Osvaldo Golijov, Kaija Saariaho, John Adams, and Tan Dun. Indiana University Press, 2015GRABOCZ, Marta, “La musique contemporaine finlandaise: conception gestuelle de la macrostructure / Saariaho et Lindberg”. Cahiers du CIREM, “Musique et Geste”, n.º 26-27 (1993), pp. 155-158HOWELL, Tim et al., Kaija Saariaho: Visions Narratives Dialogues. Ashgate, 2011KERN, Friedrich Heinrich, An Exploration of Compositional Technique in the Operas of Kaija Saariaho and Christian Jost. F. H. Kern, 2021MAO-TAKACS, Clément, Kaija Saariaho. L'ombre du songe. Symétrie, 2013MOISALA, Pirkko, Kaija Saariaho. University of Illinois Press, 2009—, “Reflections on an Ethnomusicological Study of a Contemporary Western Art Music Composer”. Ethnomusicology Forum, vol. 20, n.º 3 (2011), pp. 443-451*NIEMINEN, Risto, Kaija Saariaho. IRCAM-Centre Georges Pompidou, 1994ORDÓÑEZ GARCÍA, Silvia Constanza, L'Amour de loin o el postmoderno Prometeo. La performance intermedial en el acontecer escénico de la ópera de Kaija Saariaho. Tesis doctoral, Universidad de Granada, 2022 [PDF]ROMERO ORTIZ, María Dolores, “El jardín japonés en Six Japanese Gardens de Kaija Saariaho”. Quodlibet: Revista de Especialización Musical, n.º 75 (2021), pp. 272-340*SIVUOJA-GUNARATNAM, Anne, “Rhetoric of Transition in Kaija Saariaho's Music”. En: Musical Signification: Between Rhetoric and Pragmatics. Editado por Gino Stefani, Eero Tarasti y Luca Marconi. CLUEB, 1998—, “Desire and Distance in Kaija Saariaho's Lonh”. Organised Sound, vol. 8, n.º 1 (2003), pp. 71-84* *Documento disponible para su consulta en la Sala de Nuevas Músicas de la Biblioteca y Centro de Apoyo a la Investigación de la Fundación Juan March

It's the last (regular) episode of the year, quite unexpectedly, but a series of hilarious mishaps before and during recording nearly led to no show, so we're getting while the getting's good. And it's good this week with Tan Dun's Oscar-winning score to the martial arts classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Watch this space for maybe a special, otherwise we're back in 2024! Happy holidays from Aaron, Jay, and Krueger!

Tan Dun's Buddha Passion is a captivating tale of wonder, truth, and gentle but irresistible transformation. The monumental work involving massed choirs, a large orchestra, six percussionists, and an array of soloists including indigenous singers, traditional Chinese instruments, and a dancing pipa player, is the first such ‘Passion' on a Buddhist rather than Christian narrative.Track Listing:1 Chant2 Little Prince3 Mantra4 Under the Bodhi Tree5 Equality6 Deer of Nine Colors7 Gratitude8 Betrayal9 Trees Wish to Be Still, yet the Wind Doesn't Let Go10 Karma11 Apsaras12 Father and Three Daughters13 My Dear Father14 Sacrifice15 Mantra of Nine16 A Body is a Bodhi Tree17 Is it the Wind or a Banner Moving, or is it My Soul18 Zen Dream19 A Solar Eclipse20 Silk Road An Invisible Road21 Home Lies so Far Away22 Love is Destined to Part23 Heart Sutra24 In No Time, I Shall Enter Nirvana25 All Creatures in the Universe26 The Other Side27 Buddha Was Man, Man Will Be Buddha28 One Last Question29 NirvanaHelp support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) staff@classicalmusicdiscoveries.com This album is broadcasted with the permission of Crossover Media Music Promotion (Zachary Swanson and Amanda Bloom).Please note: the broadcasting of this episode does not mean that CMD approves of Idol worship.Only with obedience to Jesus Christ can you enter into salvation.

Ebben epizódban a kivételes tehetségű magyar fuvolaművész, **Ábel Andrea** mesél nekünk az életéről és kultúránkról, New York-i kalandjairól. 

SynopsisOn today's date in 2000, a new cello concerto with an unusual title received its premiere performance at the Barbican Center in London. Billed as the “Crouching Tiger” Concerto, this score was by the Chinese composer Tan Dun, and was derived from Tan's film score for Ang Lee's mystical and magical martial arts film titled “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”That score featured a prominent cello part, tailor-made for cellist Yo-Yo Ma, as well as a variety of traditional Chinese instruments and a percussion battery that included a North African frame drum. The haunting score matched the film so effectively that it was nominated for—and won—an Academy Award.It was director Ang Lee who suggested that Tan Dun rework his film score into a cello concerto, and even offered to put together a special film to accompany the concerto. In effect, saying, “Turnabout is fair play—you composed music to fit my film, now I'll compose a film to fit your concerto!”Lee pulled together shots from the original film and mixed in real and imaginary scenes from New York's Chinatown and 19th century Beijing for the new film designed to accompany performances of the new concerto.Music Played in Today's ProgramTan Dun (b. 1957) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon filmscore Yo Yo Ma, cello; Shanghai Symphony; Tan Dun, cond. Sony 89347

SynopsisOn this date in 1973, Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in music by Mozart, Brahms, and the American composer, Roy Harris. The program was nothing out of the ordinary, but the concert took place in Beijing and marked the FIRST time an American orchestra had performed in Communist China. The orchestra was invited to China following the famous visit of President and Mrs. Nixon and secretary of state Henry Kissinger.In the audience for one of these historic concerts was a young student of traditional Chinese music named Tan Dun. When Tan heard the Philadelphians perform Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, a work he had never heard before, he decided then and there to become a composer himself. In 1986, Tan Dun came to New York City, and since then has managed to combine elements of East and West into his own musical works.In 1987, for example, he composed a violin concerto titled Out of Peking Opera, which draws on both Chinese and European traditions. In addition to prestigious awards and commissions from major foundations and orchestras, in March of 2001, Tan Dun won an Oscar for his film score to the Ang Lee film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.Music Played in Today's ProgramLudwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Symphony No. 5 Royal Philharmonic; René Leibowitz, cond. Chesky 17Tan Dun (b. 1957) Out of Peking Opera Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Helsinki Philharmonic; Muhai Tang, cond. Ondine 864

Tan Dun hat die Mogao-Grotten besucht und war so fasziniert von den Darstellungen, dass er die Musik mit seiner „Buddha Passion“ wieder zum Leben erwecken wollte.

Budizmo teosofijos ir Johanno Sebastiano Bacho įkvėpta „Budos pasija“ pagal kinų kompozitorių Taną Duną; niekada neatrastas XX amžiaus vidurio bliuzas viename rinkinyje; kitoks požiūris į styginių kvartetą pagal australą JG Thirlwellą; prarastas Johno Coltrane'o ir Erico Dolphy koncertas; lietuvių kompozitoriai ir Thomo Manno kopos naujausiame „Aidijos“ albume. Visa tai leidybinių naujienų apžvalgose.Ved. Domantas Razauskas

In the latest Podcast Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford caught up with the multi Award-winning composer Tan Dun to explore his new work, Buddha Passion, available on Decca, and to hear his fascinating thoughts on composing, conducting and on music in general.

Today, a piano recital from Samuel Lam presenting works by Domenico Scarlatti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, and Tan Dun. The post Samuel Lam, 18, piano appeared first on WFMT.

Lisa Willis and Nonye Brown-West visit friends and discuss the banning of Amanda Gorman's poem, Supporting black poetry, and advocating for black art with host Marina Franklin. Lisa Willis serves as the Executive Director of Cave Canem. She is a passionate artistic administrator with 20 years of experience managing multi-disciplinary projects in the non-profit and commercial arts sectors. She has held various consulting and management roles in development, programming, and operations for New York Live Arts, home of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Contemporaneous, Thresh, Heidi Latsky Dance, Brian Sanders' JUNK, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Mann, and JazzReach. In 2020 she co-founded The LynList, a curated listserv and grant writing support service for NYC area individual artists and small non-profit arts groups. Prior to her shift into fundraising, she was the founding Operations Manager for CAMI Music, establishing and managing its daily administrative protocols in addition to overseeing the touring and managerial logistics for Lang Lang, Tan Dun, Savion Glover, American Ballet Theatre, Cirque Eloize, and the Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández. Lisa holds a B.A. in Music Composition and Theory from New York University and a background of training in ballet and modern dance. Nonye Brown-West is a New York-based Nigerian-American comedian and writer. She has been featured in the Boston Globe's Rise column as a Comic to Watch, as well as in NPR, PBS, ABC, Sway In The Morning, and the New York Comedy Festival. Nonye made her acting debut in The Sympathy Card, now available for streaming on Vudu, Apple, Amazon, and Google Play. Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), TBS's The Last O.G, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Hysterical on FX, The Movie Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.  

En esta conversación David Lang no enteraremos de la trayectoria de Bang on a Can entenderemos la intención de su música experimental, y cómo el ensamble ha creado su propia identidad, convirtiéndose en único en su género, no solo por su interpretación, sino por la talla de los músicos que lo integran como lo son el director musical del artista Paul Simon y uno de las creadores del sonido musical para la película "El Tigre y el Dragón" del año 2.000. Tanto en interpretación como en grabaciones, el trabajo de Bang on a Can All-Stars está marcado por la colaboración con una amplia variedad de artistas y géneros, que van desde colaboraciones con los compositores Steve Reich, Philip Glass y Tan Dun, el saxofonista de jazz Ornette Coleman, el maestro de tambores circulares birmano Kyaw Kyaw Naing y el DJ de hip-hop Spooky. Me acompaña en la traducción Betto Argos, colaborador de la NPR en Los Ángeles. Bang on a Can realiza su show en Medellín en el marco de la Temporada Nacional de Conciertos 2023 del Banco de la República este sábado 18 de febrero a las 5:00 p.m. en el Teatro Alfonso Restrepo Moreno en San Ignacio. Una invitación de Comfama. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gabriel-posada/message

For the final episode of 2022, we interviewed Dr. Magdalena Stern-Baczewska on a Saturday afternoon and had a great time chatting with her about

On Friday, November 4 at 8pm, The Bard Conservatory of Music will present “Uncaged,” a centennial concert in honor of pioneering composer and music theorist John Cage. Performed by the Bard Conservatory Orchestra under the direction of Tan Dun, the concert will take place in the Sonsonoff Theatre at The Fisher Center - it will also be live-streamed.

Synopsis The first performance of the “Liebeslieder” – or the “Love Song” Waltzes – for piano four-hands by Johannes Brahms took place on today's date in 1869. The performers were two distinguished soloists: Clara Schumann, widow of composer Robert Schumann, and Hermann Levi, a famous conductor of his day. But in fact, the “Liebeslieder Waltzes” were intended for amateur musicians to play. These popular scores provided Brahms with some steady income, certainly more than he earned from performances of his symphonies, which some of his contemporaries considered difficult “new” music. Brahms wrote to his publisher: “I must admit that, for the first time, I grinned at the sight of a work of mine in print. Moreover, I gladly risk being called an ass if our ‘Liebeslieder' don't give more than a few people pleasure.” Some much more recent piano music designed for amateur performers was collected into a volume titled “Carnegie Hall Millennium Piano Book.” This volume was conceived by composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and the artistic director of Carnegie Hall, Judith Arron. They were concerned about the lack of contemporary piano works that intermediate-level piano students could perform, so commissioned ten composers to write suitable piano pieces from composers ranging from Milton Babbitt and Elliott Carte to Chen Yi and Tan Dun. Music Played in Today's Program Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Liebeslieder Waltz No. 18, Op.52a –Silke-Thora Matthies and Christian Köhn, piano (Naxos 553140) Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021): The Days Fly By –Ursula Oppens, piano (Companion CD to Boosey and Hawkes "The Carnegie Hall Millennium Piano Book" ASIN: B003AG8IUK)

De Hollandse Nieuwe van de afgelopen week is de CD Eight Memories in Watercolor met werken van Tan Dun door pianist Ralph van Raat. Dan de start van een zomerserie met Componist Des Vaderlands Martin Fondse! En verder: Cappella Amsterdam viert volgende week haar 50e verjaardag, met muziek van Bach, Pärt en Lang. Zing de klinkers uit die achternamen en je hebt een pracht van een muzikale uithaal: äaa!

In the first episode of season two, we take a look at the Water Concerto by Chinese-born composer Tan Dun - complete with an in-studio demonstration of the exotic instruments it uses. Also, our Water Music quiz translates pop song titles into techno-babble. Can you unscramble them?

World-renowned guitarist Sharon Isbin takes us on a personal tour of her two latest albums: Affinity and Strings for Peace. Affinity is loaded with works written for Isbin, including the title track – a new guitar concerto by Chris Brubeck which contains a musical nod to his late father, legendary jazz musician Dave Brubeck (whose centenary is in 2020). Also on that disc: works that span the global palette from Tan Dun, Leo Brouwer, Antonio Lauro, and Richard Danielpour (whose song settings of Rumi poems also feature the wonderful mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard). Sharon also introduces us to Strings for Peace, her collaboration with Sarod master Amjad Ali Khan that presents four Ragas masterfully arranged for Sharon with sarods and tabla, thus drawing compelling connections between Western and Indian classical music. Social Media Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SharonIsbin Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonIsbin YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SharonIsbin Photo credit: J. Henry Fair

In this weeks WCRI's Kids Hour hosts Jamie and Spencer listen to music by Asian Cinema Composers. We'll hear music from Tan Dun, Yoko Kanno, Siddhartha Khosta and many more!

Diane and Sean discuss Ang Lee's international kung fu mega hit, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Episode music is, "The Eternal Vow" by Tan Dun.-  Our theme song is by Brushy One String-  Artwork by Marlaine LePage-  Why Do We Own This DVD?  Merch available at Teepublic-  Follow the show on social media:-  IG: @whydoweownthisdvd-  Twitter: @whydoweownthis1-  Follow Sean's Plants on IG: @lookitmahplantsSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dvdpod)

Synopsis Yes, Juliet, a rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but a catchy title alone can't help a piece of music that's uninspired or just plain boring. An intriguing title, however can sometimes help put audiences into a more receptive frame of mind – or at least pique their curiosity. From the very beginning of his career in the 1980s, the young American composer Michael Torke had the knack of coming up with quite evocative titles. His early works had titles like “Ecstatic Orange” and “Bright Blue Music.” A piece composed for the 1994 Olympic Games in Atlanta was titled “Javelin,” and this music, an orchestral suite that premiered in Amsterdam on today's date in 1997, was titled “Overnight Mail.” And each of the three movements of his orchestral suite had an ADDITIONAL title, as Torke explains: “The titles of the suite's three movements, Priority, Standard, and Saturday Delivery present the options for expediency when sending things, but musically, they represent different reactions to an abstract compositional problem I set up for myself … For me this was important, because I want to write music that follows all the old rules of voice leading and counterpoint, but sounds fresh.” Music Played in Today's Program Michael Torke (b. 1961) — Overnight Mail (Orkest de Volharding; Jurjen Hempel, cond.) Argo 455 684 On This Day Births 1673 - French flutist and composer Jacques-Martin Hottetere, in Paris; Deaths 1977 - Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin, age 78, in Paris; Premieres 1918 - Holst: "The Planets," at Queen's Hall, London; 1921 - Sigmund Romberg: operetta "Blossom Time," in New York City; 1949 - Bliss: opera "The Olympians," in London; 1968 - Henze: Piano Concerto No. 2, in Bielefeld, Germany; 1969 - Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 (to poems of Lorca, Apollinaire, Küchelbecker, and Rilke), in Leningrad, by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Rudolf Barshai conducting, with vocal soloists Galina Vishnevskaya and Yevgeny Vladimirov; 1983 - Lutoslawski: Symphony No. 3, in Chicago; 1997 - Michael Torke: "Overnight Mail" for chamber ensemble, in Carre, Amsterdam, by the Orkest de Volharding, Jurjen Hempel conducting; 2000 - Tan Dun: "Crouching Tiger Concerto," at the Barbican Festival in London, by the London Sinfonietta; Others 1739 - Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in G, Op. 6, no. 1 (Gregorian date: Oct. 10); 1789 - Mozart completes in Vienna his Quintet in A for clarinet and strings, K. 581, written for clarinetist Anton Stadler, who gave the first public performance of the new work in December of that year. Links and Resources On Torke

Synopsis The year 2000 marked both the arrival of a new millennium and the 250th anniversary of the death of the great German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The International Bach Academy in Stuttgart decided to mark the occasion by commissioning four very different composers to write four new passion settings, one each after the Gospel accounts of the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. A German composer, Wolfgang Rihm, was chosen for the St. Luke Passion; a Russian, Sofia Gubaidulina for St. John's; an Argentine, Osvaldo Golijov for St. Mark's; and a Chinese composer, Tan Dun, for the Passion according to St. Matthew. And on today's date in 2000, Helmuth Rilling conducted the world premiere of Tan Dun's “Water Passion after St. Matthew.” Tan said he was struck by the references to water in St. Matthew's gospel, so his setting includes seventeen large, illuminated bowls of water, positioned on stage in the form of a cross. These divide the chorus, with three percussionists and a group of additional soloists stationed at the four points of this cross. In Tan's “Water Passion,” natural sounds of water mix with a wide range of vocal techniques, including Tuvan throat singing and the stylized virtuosity of Peking Opera. Music Played in Today's Program Tan Dun (b. 1957) – Water Passion (Stephen Bryant, bass; Mark O'Connor, violin; ensemble; Tan Dun, cond.) Sony 89927 On This Day Births 1841 - Czech composer Antonin Dvorák, in Nelahozeves; 1894 - Dutch composer Willem Pijper, in Zeist; 1933 - American composer Eric Salzman, in New York City; 1934 - British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (whose last name, despite its spelling, is pronounced "Davis" by the British); 1934 - Canadian composer Srul Irving Glick, in Toronto; Deaths 1613 - Italian nobleman, composer, lutenist, and murderer (of his first wife and her lover) Don Carlo Gesualdo, age c. 53, at his castle in Gesualdo; 1949 - German composer and conductor Richard Strauss, age 85, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen; 1991 - American composer Alex North, age 80, in Pacific Palisades, Calif.; Premieres 1961 - Earle Brown: "Available Forms I" for 18 players, in Darmstadt; 1971 - Bernstein: gala premiere "Mass (A Theater Piece)" at the inauguration of the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., choreographed by Alvin Ainley, directed by Gordon Davidson, and conducted by Maurice Peress (Bernstein shared a box section with members of the Kennedy family, including Senator Ted Kennedy and his mother, Rose; Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis did not attend this performance); A dress rehearsal performances of this new work was also open to the public and specially-invited members of Congress the preceding day; 1975 - Paul Chihara: "Ceremony V (Symphony in Celebration)," in Houston; 1994 - Michael Torke: "Javelin," by the Atlanta Symphony, Yoel Levi conducting; 1995 - Lou Harrison: "New First Suite for Strings," in Majorca, by the Stuttgart Symphony, Dennis Russell Davies conductin; 2000 - Tan Dun: "Water Passion after St. Matthew," in Stuttgart (Germany), with vocal soloists Elizabeth Keusch and Stephen Bryant, violinist Mark O'Connor, cellist Maya Beiser, and percussionist David Cossin, and the orchestra of the Bach Academy conducted by the composer; This work was one of four passion settings commissioned by the International Bach Academy to honor the 250th anniversary of Bach's death in the year 2000 (see also: Aug. 29 Sept 1 5). Links and Resources On Tan Dun More on Tan Dun

Dame Evelyn Glennie, arguably the world's premier percussionist talks us through creating the sound of icicles, growing up in remote Scotland, the 'feel' of sound, her wonderful peripatetic schoolteacher,  playing flowerpots to  stunning effect, waterphones, Tan Dun and manipulating a metal truck silencer to evoke the sound of thunder in a cave.— In the Wilderness Tracks, writers, artists, scientists and thinkers talk with producer Geoff Bird about six pieces of music that somehow connect them to nature.

Today we talk with Sarah Ioannides about how she founded Cascade Conducting to share her experiences and the lessons from her conducting teachers, how to create an effective collaboration, and how creating videos to accompany Symphony Tacoma's virtual concerts led her to a deeper appreciation of her orchestra and the music.Today we discuss: Sarah’s early experiences as a musician and how that led to her becoming a conductor (2:50)How Sarah shares the lessons she’s learned from great teachers with a new generation of students through Cascade Conducting (12:35)Using your repertoire list to help identify your niche as a performer, and Sarah walks us through her specific focuses (20:03)How Sarah started working with Tan Dun as his Assistant Conductor, and her process of commissioning both new music and new films to accompany existing pieces (25:43)The most important factors for working successfully with a symphony staff and orchestra, and why it’s our job to express why our music is important (33:37)Symphony Tacoma’s virtual schedule during COVID shutdown and how Sarah’s project of creating visuals for archived concerts has helped her connect more deeply with the piece and her orchestra (40:00)Advice Sarah received but regrets not following, Hidden Gems, and a Harry Potter quote for her Billboard (50:24)Podium Time episode 100 is coming on February 20th, 2021! Sign up for the live stream and submit your questions here:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeq5gI_Tens-1Q_Ipk5DitjyK8Cd0sjGYJFD67CdAyla9GzmQ/viewform?usp=sf_linkMentioned in this episode:Cascade ConductingSymphony TacomaYoutube PageFire Mountain and the Tabla ConcertoRachmaninoff 3rd piano concertoFind this and all other episodes at PodiumTimePod.com. Subscribe and download Podium Time on your favorite podcast player and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @PodiumTimePod. You can also join our Facebook Group, the Podium Time Inner Circle to ask questions and continue the conversation after every episode. Want to send us an email? Use the contact page on our website! If you’d like to support the podcast monetarily and get bonus content, consider joining our Patreon community at Patreon.com/PodiumTimePod. If you’re in the market for a new baton, use our promo code “PodiumTime” at Pagubatons.com for 20% off your first order. Support the show (https://patreon.com/podiumtimepod)

The Modern Period – Part IV This week we hear works by Sergei Prokofiev, Carl Orff, Milton Babbitt, John Williams, Arvo Pärt, George Tsontakis, Judith Weir, Tan Dun, Nico Muhly, and Conrad Tao. 168 Minutes – Week of November 23, 2020

Duquesne University grad and former Pittsburgh Post Gazette writer Jennifer Lin is the Co Director of Beethoven in Beijing a new documentary about the Philadelphia Orchestra visit to Beijing with the diplomacy of Henry Kissinger and President Nixon in 1973 and the more recent 2016 return with the Philadelphia and Yannick Netzet Seguin. The explosion of interest in classical music in China with composer Tan Dun and Lang Lang , how classical music bridges gaps of cultural understanding and trade wars are covered in the documentary. The film will be seen on PBS Great Performances in the spring of 2021. Included in the November Pittsburgh Film Festival available virtually through November 22.

Conductor Jason Lai talks to Alex about classical music by living composers. Jason shares music by Tan Dun and Mark-Anthony Turnage, and then turns the tables on Alex to discuss his Requiem!Subscribe to New Notes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and you'll be the first to hear new episodes each week.

On the culture, art, and history of Dunhuang, the crown jewel of the Silk Road, and its influence on the Oscar-winning musician Tan Dun

On today’s date in 2000, a new cello concerto with an unusual title received its premiere performance at the Barbican Center in London. Billed as the “Crouching Tiger” Concerto, this score was by the Chinese composer Tan Dun, and was derived from Tan’s film score for Ang Lee’s mystical and magical martial arts film titled “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” That score featured a prominent cello part, tailor-made for cellist Yo-Yo Ma, as well as a variety of traditional Chinese instruments and a percussion battery that included a North African frame drum. The haunting score matched the film so effectively that it was nominated for—and won—an Academy Award. It was director Ang Lee who suggested that Tan Dun rework his film score into a cello concerto, and even offered to put together a special film to accompany the concerto. In effect, saying, “Turnabout is fair play—you composed music to fit my film, now I’ll compose a film to fit your concerto!” Lee pulled together shots from the original film and mixed in real and imaginary scenes from New York’s Chinatown and 19th century Beijing for the new film designed to accompany performances of the new concerto.

On today’s date in 2000, a new cello concerto with an unusual title received its premiere performance at the Barbican Center in London. Billed as the “Crouching Tiger” Concerto, this score was by the Chinese composer Tan Dun, and was derived from Tan’s film score for Ang Lee’s mystical and magical martial arts film titled “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” That score featured a prominent cello part, tailor-made for cellist Yo-Yo Ma, as well as a variety of traditional Chinese instruments and a percussion battery that included a North African frame drum. The haunting score matched the film so effectively that it was nominated for—and won—an Academy Award. It was director Ang Lee who suggested that Tan Dun rework his film score into a cello concerto, and even offered to put together a special film to accompany the concerto. In effect, saying, “Turnabout is fair play—you composed music to fit my film, now I’ll compose a film to fit your concerto!” Lee pulled together shots from the original film and mixed in real and imaginary scenes from New York’s Chinatown and 19th century Beijing for the new film designed to accompany performances of the new concerto.

Ang Lee has made a career of always doing something different, so it likely came as no surprise to people after his Jane Austen adaptation, his 70s period family drama, and his western that he then moved straight into a Chinese wuxia film full of magical realism. Despite the wide variance between subjects, his passion for stories full of emotion and repression is reflected in them all in some capacity. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Foreign Language Films Nominated for Best Picture series with Lee's 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. We talk about the nature of this film and how it became such a touchstone for not only celebrating Asian culture but also a shift in wirework and stunts in films. We look at the nature of emotion in Lee's films and how that's reflected throughout with various characters here. We discuss the challenge of making a film like this with a cast who didn't all speak Mandarin, or did with heavy accents. We chat about the performers and how much Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen bring to their roles. We discuss the color green and its use here paired with Peter Pau's cinematography and Yuen Woo-ping's action choreography. We touch on Tan Dun's amazing score, and we debate about the Oscars and how things played out. It's a brilliant film that holds up just as well as it did on its initial release. We have a great time talking about it, so check it out then tune in to this week's show! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins. Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel's Discord channel! Film Sundries Thank you for supporting The Next Reel Film Podcast on Patreon! Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • YouTube Script Transcript Original theatrical trailer Original poster artwork Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Book 4 by Wang Dulu Flickchart Letterboxd

Ang Lee has made a career of always doing something different, so it likely came as no surprise to people after his Jane Austen adaptation, his 70s period family drama, and his western that he then moved straight into a Chinese wuxia film full of magical realism. Despite the wide variance between subjects, his passion for stories full of emotion and repression is reflected in them all in some capacity. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Foreign Language Films Nominated for Best Picture series with Lee’s 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. We talk about the nature of this film and how it became such a touchstone for not only celebrating Asian culture but also a shift in wirework and stunts in films. We look at the nature of emotion in Lee’s films and how that’s reflected throughout with various characters here. We discuss the challenge of making a film like this with a cast who didn’t all speak Mandarin, or did with heavy accents. We chat about the performers and how much Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen bring to their roles. We discuss the color green and its use here paired with Peter Pau’s cinematography and Yuen Woo-ping’s action choreography. We touch on Tan Dun’s amazing score, and we debate about the Oscars and how things played out. It’s a brilliant film that holds up just as well as it did on its initial release. We have a great time talking about it, so check it out then tune in to this week’s show! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins. Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel! Film Sundries Thank you for supporting The Next Reel Film Podcast on Patreon! Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • YouTube Script Transcript Original theatrical trailer Original poster artwork Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Book 4 by Wang Dulu Flickchart Letterboxd

On this date in 1973, Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in music by Mozart, Brahms, and the American composer, Roy Harris. The program was nothing out of the ordinary, but the concert took place in Beijing and marked the FIRST time an American orchestra had performed in Communist China. The orchestra was invited to China following the famous visit of President and Mrs. Nixon and secretary of state Henry Kissinger. In the audience for one of these historic concerts was a young student of traditional Chinese music named Tan Dun. When Tan heard the Philadelphians perform Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, a work he had never heard before, he decided then and there to become a composer himself. In 1986, Tan Dun came to New York City, and since then has managed to combine elements of East and West into his own musical works. In 1987, for example, he composed a violin concerto entitled “Out of Peking Opera,” which draws on both Chinese and European traditions. In addition to prestigious awards and commissions from major foundations and orchestras, in March of 2001, Tan Dun won an Oscar for his film score to the Ang Lee film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

On this date in 1973, Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in music by Mozart, Brahms, and the American composer, Roy Harris. The program was nothing out of the ordinary, but the concert took place in Beijing and marked the FIRST time an American orchestra had performed in Communist China. The orchestra was invited to China following the famous visit of President and Mrs. Nixon and secretary of state Henry Kissinger. In the audience for one of these historic concerts was a young student of traditional Chinese music named Tan Dun. When Tan heard the Philadelphians perform Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, a work he had never heard before, he decided then and there to become a composer himself. In 1986, Tan Dun came to New York City, and since then has managed to combine elements of East and West into his own musical works. In 1987, for example, he composed a violin concerto entitled “Out of Peking Opera,” which draws on both Chinese and European traditions. In addition to prestigious awards and commissions from major foundations and orchestras, in March of 2001, Tan Dun won an Oscar for his film score to the Ang Lee film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

Praised by critics for her "astounding virtuosic gifts" (Boston Herald), "achingly pure sound” (The Toronto Star), and “impressive technical and interpretive control” (The New York Times), TRICIA PARK enjoys a diverse and eclectic career as a violinist, educator, curator, writer, and podcaster.Tricia is the producer and host of the podcast, “Is it Recess Yet? Confessions of a Former Child Prodigy.” She received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and was selected as one of "Korea's World Leaders of Tomorrow" by the Korean Daily Central newspaper. Since appearing in her first orchestral engagement at age 13 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, she has performed with the English Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra of South Africa; the Montreal, Dallas, Cincinnati, Seattle, Honolulu, Nevada, and Lincoln Symphonies; and the Calgary, Buffalo, and Westchester and Naples Philharmonics. Tricia has given recitals throughout the United States and abroad, including a highly acclaimed performance at the Ravinia Rising Stars series. She also performs as half of the violin-fiddle duo, Tricia & Taylor, with fiddler-violinist, Taylor Morris.Tricia is the founder of the Solera Quartet, the winner of the Pro Musicis International Award and the first American chamber ensemble chosen for this distinction. Acclaimed as “top-notch, intense, stylish, and with an abundance of flare and talent,” the Solera Quartet performed their debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall to celebrate their addition to Pro Musicis’ roster. The Soleras’ debut album, Every Moment Present, features music by Janacek, Mendelssohn, and Caroline Shaw and was hailed by the New York Times hailed as “intoxicating….The quartet’s playing on the recording is sensitive and finely articulated throughout and the sound bright and vivid.”Other career highlights include Tricia’s recital debut at the Kennedy Center, appearances at the Lincoln Center Festival in Bright Sheng's The Silver River, her Korean debut performance with the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Orchestra and collaborations with composer Tan Dun. As First Violinist of the Maia Quartet from 2005-2011, she performed at Lincoln Center and the 92nd Street Y in New York and Beijing’s Forbidden City Hall and was on faculty at the University of Iowa.Passionate about arts education and community development, Tricia is the co-founder and artistic director of MusicIC, a chamber music festival that explores the connections between music and literature. In 2019, Tricia received an MFA from the Writing Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was a recipient of the New Artist Society Scholarship and was awarded a Writing Fellow Prize. Her writing has been published in Cleaver, Alyss and F News Magazines.Tricia received her Bachelor and Master of Music from the Juilliard School where she studied with Dorothy DeLay. She was a recipient of the Starling-DeLay Teaching Fellowship at the Juilliard School. She has studied and performed chamber music with Felix Galimir, Pinchas Zukerman, Cho-Liang Lin, Michael Tree, Gary Hoffman, Paul Neubauer, Robert McDonald, and members of the American, Guarneri, Juilliard, and Orion String Quartets as well as the new music group, Eighth Blackbird. Other former teachers include Cho-Liang Lin, Donald Weilerstein, Hyo Kang and Piotr Milewski.Currently, Tricia is an Artist-in-Residence and Lecturer in Chamber Music and Violin and Viola Performance at the University of Chicago.Connect with her here. RESOURCESDr. Derald Wing SuCitizen, by Claudia RankineI would like to thank Tricia for the music in episode - Cesar Franck's Violin Sonata performed with the pianist Domenic Cheli.Photo credit - Denise Karis  

Kunqu is said to be the mother of all Chinese operas. With a 400 year history, 'the Peony Pavilion' is one of its celebrated tales of love, which has been remade into numerous films and plays. 

The uncut performances of this romantic 16th-century work consisted of more than 22 hours. Chinese composer Tan Dun, best known for his music for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, re-adapted this classic into a compact 75-minute production several years ago. With our colleague Liu Min's help, our host Tony had the pleasure of watching Tan's version from an online video recorded at the New York Metropolitan Museum. And we've invited Liu Min on Music Talks today to share with you ‘The Peony Pavilion' while enjoying Tan's version of the Chinese Kunqu opera. To check out the New York Metropolitan Museum edition, click: https://www.metmuseum.org/peonypavilion

About the Performance: Following on the stunning success of his Water Passion after St. Matthew, Tan Dun (composer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) has created another evening-length oratorio, this time based on stories inspired by the Dunhuang Cave paintings. Program: Tan DUN : Buddha Passion (U.S. premiere, LA Phil commission*) Artists: Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel conductor Sen Guo soprano Huiling Zhu mezzo-soprano Kang Wang tenor Shenyang bass-baritone Tan Weiwei Female Indigenous Singer Batubagen Male Indigenous Singer Chen Yining Fantan Pipa Soloist and Dancer Los Angeles Master Chorale Grant Gershon Artistic Director Los Angeles Children's Chorus Fernando Malvar-Ruiz Artistic Director SAT / FEB 9, 2019 - 8:00PM Upcoming concerts: www.laphil.com/calendar Upbeat Live schedule, details, and speaker bios: www.laphil.com/ubl

It is the only form of writing invented by women and for women. Its name is Nv Shu. Literally meaning Women's Book, it's a phonetic writing system devised by female speakers of the Shaozhou Tuhua dialect who were once banned from receiving formal education. Used to impart wisdom from one generation to the next, it passes on advice on how to be a good mother, daughter, sister and friend. Originated in the remote villages of Jiang Yong County in China's Hunan Province, Nv Shu is now considered a dying language by UNESCO. A few years ago, award-winning composer Tan Dun came across a story about this ancient form of writing while he was working in Taipei. The story was about a group of women from Hunan who came to Beijing wanting to see Chairman Mao in 1950. But their accent was so odd and unusual that nobody understood what they were saying. When UNESCO heard about this, linguistic expert were sent to investigate. According to the book, this was how Nv Shu was discovered. Captivated by the story, Tan Dun started his own research in Hunan. "What attracted me was the elegance of the characters in Nv Shu. They don't look like they were invented by a group of uneducated women. It surprised me that when all the characters are put together, they create an incredibly beautiful image. I discovered that their songs are also very moving. They are passed down from mothers to daughters and some of them are age-old melodies from ancient times." After five years of ethnomusicological research, Tan Dun emerged with a multimedia masterpiece which includes a 13-movement work of video, solo harp and orchestra. The approximately 40-minute performance includes short films of women singing songs written in Nv Shu alongside orchestral music. The songs in the video are used as an accompaniment to the live music. In 2013, Nv Shu: The Secret Songs of Women premiered in America by the Philadephia Orchestra. This year, from May 21 to June 6, the band will be sharing this cultural gem with Chinese audiences on their tour of China. The tour starts at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts. This is the third year in a row that the orchestra has been invited to perform at The Egg. Philadelphia orchestra president Allison Vulgamore said it feels like coming home. "It's a tremendous feeling to be walking back inside this beautiful structure. This iconic The Egg, the National Centre for the Performing Arts �C our home away from home. And it feels normal now. It doesn't feel new but it feels full of excitement and anticipation." There will also be performances in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hunan - the birthplace of Nv Shu. Several singers who are in the video accompaniment have been invited to the performance in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan. This trip also marks many firsts for the band. It's their first time performing Nv Shu in Beijing, their first time in Hunan, and the first international tour for conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Touted as one of the best conductor of the 21st century by British newspaper The Guardian, Nezet-Seguin has lead many world famous orchestras including the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Orchestre Metropolitain in Montreal. However, despite his many accomplishments, he said that it was challenging interpreting the different elements of Nv Shu. "It is a piece which blends images of singing and cry singing. So people were there but not really live. We have to create the music live. This is actually something very difficult to do, on a technical level and also understanding the breathing of Chinese singing of this special language. So, of course, I found it very difficult. It needed a lot of studying." With the guidance from Tan Dun, conductor Nezet-Seguin was able to overcome these difficulties. He says that being able to perform Nv Shu at its place of origin would be an unforgettable experience. "To play in the Hunan province, to play this piece, will be something that will be a unique moment in my life. I will do this with a lot of humility and try to let the music of the master speak as deeply as possible, to respect its character and to touch the audiences, which is what we always want to do." The performance in Hunan is scheduled on May 27.