I MAKE MUSIC andMUSIC MAKES ME.................................

TAN DUN: a new concept of a

CONDUCTOR

the conducting repetoire for

2017-2019 SEASONS

The world renowned artist Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, visual 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 for classical music, Bach Prize and Shostakovich Award, Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on the radio and television. As a global cultural leader, Tan Dun uses his creativity to raise awareness of environmental issues and to protect cultural diversity. In 2010, Tan Dun served as “Cultural Ambassador to the World” for World EXPO Shanghai and most recently, UNESCO appointed Tan Dun as its global Goodwill Ambassador. Tan Dun also currently serves as Artistic Director of the China National Symphony Orchestra

and Creative Director of the National Center for Performing Arts in China (NCPA).

WORLD WIDE MANAGER:

Tim Fox, Columbia Artists Management LLC

E: timfox@cami.com, T: +1-212-841-9571

Mahler Chamber Orchestra (china tour)Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (3 seasons)

La Scala Philharmonic (2 seasons)Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (2 seasons)

Munich Philharmonic (4 seasons)Santa Cecilia Orchestra (3 seasons)

The Philadelphia Orchestra (2 seasons)BBC Symphony Orchestra (4 seasons)

Boston Symphony Orchestra (3 seasons)

NHK Symphony Orchestra of Japan (china tour & 7 seasons)Orchestre National de France (2 seasons)Royal Stockholm Philharmonic (3 seasons)Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (8 seasons)China National Symphony Orchestra (8 seasons)China Philharmonic Orchestra (4 seasons)London Symphony OrchestraLos Angeles Philharmonic (2 seasons)Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (4 seasons)and more than 30 orchestras worldwide.

AS A CONDUCTOR, TAN DUN HAS LED THE WORLD’S

MOST ESTEEMED ORCHESTRAS, INCLUDING:

TAN DUN, CONDUCTOR

I believe conducting is part of my spiritual life. I learned my conducting through composing and learned composing through my conducting. That is why music to me is such a dramatic journey and colorful dream in action and mind.

TAN DUN

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1. Smetana: Má vlast, Vltava

2. Tan Dun: Water Concerto for water percussion and orchestra

3. Takemitsu: I Hear the Water Dreaming

4. Britten: Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes

1. Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques, for piano and orchestra

2. Guan Xia: A hundred birds paying homage to the Phoenix for surnay and orchestra

3. Tan Dun: Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds with cellphones

4. Stravinsky: The Firebird 1919

CONDUCTING REPETOIRE (2017-2019 Seasons)

WATER SPIRIT1

SECRET OF WIND AND BIRDS2

1. Strauss: Salome: Dance of the Seven Veils

2. Tan Dun: Farewell My Concubine Double Concerto for Peking Opera soprano, piano and orchestra

3. Puccini: Turandot Suite from Turandot

4. Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite

1. Debussy: Rhapsodie for Orchestra and Saxophone

2. Respighi: Pini di Roma

3. Tan Dun: The Secret Songs of Women: Nu Shu Symphony for 13 Microfilms, Harp and Orchestra

PASSION AND FORBIDDEN LOVE3

NU SHU: SECRET SONGS OF WOMEN WITH MULTIMEDIA4

1. Debussy: L’Après-midi d’un faune

2. Tan Dun: Intercourse of Fire and Water

3. Debussy: Rhapsodie for Orchestra and Clarinet

4. Tan Dun: Death and Fire: Dialogue with Paul Klee

FIRE AND WATER5

1. Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

2. Tan Dun: Percussion Concerto: The Tears of Nature

1) The Rite of Summer for timpani and orchestra 2) The Rite of Autumn for marimba and orchestra 3) The Rite of Winter for percussion and orchestra

FOUR SEASONS: STRAVINSKY & TAN DUN6

1. Bartok: Dance Suite

2. Tan Dun: Concerto for Pipa and String Orchestra

3. Tan Dun: Erhu Concerto or Xun Concerto

4. Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite

BARTOK & TAN DUN: NEW SOUNDS ON OLD INSTRUMENTS7

1. Smetana: Má vlast, Vltava

2. Sam Wu: Sea Silk Road: Sound of South

3. Britten: Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes

4. Tan Dun: Concerto for 12 cellos and orchestra Marco Polo

SEA-SILK ROAD AND MARCO POLO8

1. Prokofiev: Love for 3 Oranges Suite

2. Tan Dun: Violin Concerto: The Love3

3. Tan Dun: Symphonic Poem of 3 Notes

4. Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Selections

1. Tan Dun: Contrabass Concerto: The Wolf

2. Prokofiev : Peter and the Wolf with a Celebrity Narrator

1. Takemitsu: A String Around Autumn for viola and orchestra

2. Tan Dun: Out of Peking Opera for violin and orchestra

3. Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major for violin, viola and orchestra

THE LOVE ³9 THE WOLF 10 LIFE ON A STRING11

LANG LANG AND TAN DUN

Enchanting conductor, Tan Dun kneads the sound with tendril, fluent and delicate gestures. With natural self-reliance he accentuates the colors of the sounds, which is not only an advantage to his own music, but to the works of the other composers performed as well.

HET PAROOL, AMSTERDAM

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PLACIDO DOMINGO AND TAN DUN

1. Dinicu: The Lark for violin and orchestra

2. Saint-Saëns: The Swan for cello and orchestra

3. Debussy: Clair de Lune for piano and orchestra

4. Tan Dun: The Triple Resurrection for violin, cello, piano and orchestra

5. Tan Dun: Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds with cellphones

6. Ravel: Boléro

1. Tan Dun: Internet Symphony “Eroica” Long Li Ge Long Rock n’ Roll Symphony Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds with cellphones

2. Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Arr. Ravel

OPEN AIR FOREST CONCERT SUMMER FESTIVAL12

VISUAL SYMPHONY A WITH MULTIMEDIA AND CELLPHONES13

1. Ligeti: Atmosphères

2. Tan Dun: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra Yi2

3. Cage: Atlas Eclipticalis

4. Tan Dun: Concerto for Orchestra

VISUAL SYMPHONY B WITH ELECTRIC SHADOWS14

1. Silk Road Heritage: Sound Map 12 films with music arranged for 12 musicians from the Silk Road Heritage

2. Tan Dun: The Map concerto for cello, video and orchestra

SOUND MAP WITH FILM AND VIDEO15

1. Holst: The Planets with multimedia

2. Tan Dun: Symphony for DJ and Digital Samples 2000 Today

SPACE AND BEYOND 16

1. de Falla: Ritual Fire Dance

2. Tan Dun: Paper Concerto for paper percussion and orchestra

3. Ives: The Unanswered Question

4. Tan Dun: Water Concerto for water percussion and orchestra

PAPER AND WATER17

1. Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

2. Tan Dun: Earth Concerto for ceramic instruments and orchestra

EARTH SPIRIT18

1. Tan Dun: Red Forecast Orchestral Theatre III

2. Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major for violin, viola and orchestra

FROM MAO TO MOZART19

1. Takemitsu: Ran

2. Tan Dun: Crouching Tiger Concerto for cello and orchestra OR Violin Concerto from Hero, Piano Concerto from The Banquet

2. Shostakovich: Hamlet

SSS – SCORING FOR STAGE AND SCREEN20

Mr. Tan is a dynamic conductor with colorful illustrations for the eye and ear.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Tan, who conducted this London Premiere, has opened up new worlds of experience in contemporary music, bringing a breath of fresh air to a Western tradition that can be too inward looking.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, LONDON

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YO YO MA AND TAN DUN

1. Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances for orchestra and harpsicord

2. Nima Niktabe: Poem of Persia

3. Missa Johnouchi: Pipa Fantasy from Ancient Nara to ChangAn

4. Alimujan: Muqam: Vocal Concerto

5. Tan Dun: Concerto for Orchestra and Old Instruments from the Silk Road Heritage

SYMPHONIC SILK ROAD211. Cage: Atlas Eclipticalis

2. Tan Dun: Bass Concerto “The Wolf”

3. Cage: The Seasons for piano and orchestra

4. Respighi: Pini di Roma

COLOR IN NATURE221. Ravel: Ma mère l’Oye Suite

2. Tan Dun: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra Yi2

3. Tan Dun: Harp Concerto after The Secret Songs of Women

4. Ravel: Bolero

PLUCKING THE SOUND IN MOTION23

1. Tan Dun: Hero: Concerto for two violins

OR: Concerto for viola and violin

2. Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”

HEROS24

1. Takemitsu: Towards the Sea

2. Arvo Part : Tabula rasa for two violins, prepared piano and strings

3. Gorecki: Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings

4. Tan Dun: Symphony for Strings

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA A25

1. Takemitsu: Three Film Scores for string orchestra

2. Tan Dun: Concerto for Zheng and String Orchestra

3. Ives: The Unanswered Question

4. Tan Dun: Crouching Tiger Concerto for cello and chamber orchestra

EARTH SPIRIT26

Esquire

China, 2010

Berliner Philharmoniker

Germany, 2004

Estra

Italy, 2008

Classic Voice

Italy, 2008

Mostly Classic

Japan, 2002

De Doelen Magazine

Netherlands 2014

TAN DUN FEATURED ON THE COVER

FESTIVAL PROGRAMS

WATER PASSION AFTER ST. MATTHEW 11. Baptism

2. Temptations

3. Last Supper

4. In the Garden of Gethsemane

5. Stone Song

6. Give us Barabbas

7. Death and Earthquake

8. Water and Resurrection

WATER PASSION was commissioned by the Internationale Bachakademie

Stuttgart to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the death of J.S. Bach with

a setting of the “Passion” story that inspired Bach. A highly visual piece, that

creates a unique sound world and a dialogue between Buddha and Jesus,

Bach and Tan Dun…

“Its images are unlike anything that the average Western audience will have

encountered in a concert hall before (the title refers not only to the 17 bowls of

water on the stage, which singers and percussionists ripple to hypnotic aural

and visual effect). Yet its world premiere in Stuttgart earlier this month was

greeted with an ecstatic 15-minute standing ovation. Like its model, Bach’s

St. Matthew Passion, it transcends language, cultural and religious divides.”

- The Times (London), UK, September 26, 2000

I. Prologue: Secret Fan

II. Mother’s Story:

Mother’s Song

Dressing for the Wedding

Cry-Singing for the Marriage

III. Nu Shu Village: Nu Shu Village

IV. Sisters’ Intimacy:

Longing for Her Sister

A Road Without End

Forever Sisters

V. Daughter’s Story:

Daughter’s River

Grandmother’s Echo

The Book of Tears

Soul Bridge

VI. Epilogue: Living in the Dream

After more than five years of research,

Tan Dun has captured one the world’s

most unique languages on film-a lan-

guage created by women for women.

This women’s language, Nu Shu, was

central to the women of Jiang Yong,

Hunan and after generations of use

is now in danger of fading out com-

pletely. Tan Dun’s documentary foot-

age of these women wholly drives his

compositional material. Central to the

thirteen-movement piece is a series of

filmed field recordings capturing the

musical life and spirit of the remaining

Nu Shu women. Combining the fields of

anthropology, musicology, history and

philosophy, Tan Dun weaves heartrend-

ing stories of mothers, daughters, sisters

and how they navigate their lives: “Nu

Shu culture can be seen as a drop or a

ripple in the Mother River, beautiful and

dreamlike… NU SHU is a Symphony

for 13 microfilms representing the past,

orchestra representing the future, the

dialogue in between is bridge by the solo

harp and is the most beautiful women’s

instrument in my heart…”

“Tan’s Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of

Women, Symphony for Microfilms, Harp

and Orchestra was the most elaborate,

with field videos showing three genera-

tions of women in the Hunan province

of China, passing on life wisdom in the

form of song. Great idea, and since Tan

is a master scene painter with music...”

- The Philadelphia Inquirer, USA, 2013

NU SHU: THE SECRET SONGS OF WOMEN

Symphony for Harp Solo, 13 Micro Films, and Orchestra

2

MARTIAL ARTS CYCLE

salute to Richard Wagner and The Ring Cycle on the occasion of his 200th birthday

31. Hero Concerto for violin and orchestra

2. Crouching Tiger Concerto for cello and orchestra

3. The Banquet Concerto for piano and orchestra

4. The Triple Resurrection for violin, cello, piano and orchestra

I have always sought to cross boundaries, disciplines and bring

different genres together. The tradition of martial arts was created

from Chinese opera in the 19th century. To me, the opera tradition

is an ancient form of cinema and cinema is the opera of the future.

Richard Wagner’s operas and his concept of “music drama”: name-

ly, the idea of writing music that does not need text or a script for the

story to be told-music, inherently dramatic, can tell the story itself.

Music is able to complete the story or conclude the dramatic arc

on its own. Using Wagner’s concepts, I apply this kind of thinking

to the MARTIAL ARTS CYCLE. The cycle does not portray “film

music”, but instead a “music film”.

- Tan Dun

“This was an epic, multimedia production, full of big-screen

emotions and unabashed melodrama.”

– The Washington Post, USA, July 29, 2011

“His language [is]... a mix of Hollywood grandeur and primal,

percussive vitality.”

– The New York Times, USA, August 15, 2011

ORGANIC MUSIC TRILOGY41. Water Concerto for water percussion and orchestra

2. Paper Concerto for paper percussion and orchestra

3. Earth Concerto for ceramic/stone instruments and orchestra

ORGANIC MUSIC concerns both matters of everyday life and

matters of the heart. These ideas find their origin in the animistic

notion that material objects have spirits residing in them, an idea

ever-present in the old village where I grew up in China. Paper can

talk to the violin, the violin to water. Water can communicate with

trees, and trees with the moon, and so on. In other words, every

little thing in the totality of things, the entire universe, has a life

and a soul.

-Tan Dun

“… He is continually returning to his musical roots and his close

connection to basic elements, to earth, water and humble paper.

Tan never seems at a loss for new ways to make entrancing music

from these materials…”

– Los Angeles Times, USA, 2005

- Salute to Gustav Mahler

ORCHESTRAL THEATRE CYCLE5I grew up in a ritual world in Hunan Province where music spoke to spirits, clouds, birds, water, the earth… everything. I believe that music can once again

become a ritual bridge between the creative and the re-creative, completing the circle of spiritual life. So I began to ask myself some concrete questions:

How — or if — a classical orchestra could sound not classical? Could it convey the sense of another culture, a ritual of instruments and vocalization? Could

this, which is common in Chinese theater and folk celebration, be done with a Western orchestra? What would primitive sounds be like with Western har-

mony? I began to see the orchestra itself as a dramatic medium, as theater.

- Tan Dun

1. ORIGIN (OT I):

The first piece is an exploration of Chinese ritual

where the orchestra members yell, chant and sing

throughout the piece. It follows the structure of

Chinese theater, in which opening free beats be-

come a rhythmic sequence, suddenly interrupted by

an orchestral murmuring; this cycle plays back and

forth between instruments and voice.

2. RE (OT II):

In writing this piece, I realized that not only were

the orchestra and conductor present in the concert

hall, but also the public who experience the music. I

thought about the rituals familiar to me since child-

hood and realized that in a ritual there is no audience,

only participants. I understood that the conductor’s

role as high priest of the orchestra should also extend

to his control over the entire performance space and

all those within it, musicians and audience alike. The

work is sharing the audience’s traditional space in a

ritual of sound, space, and silence.

3. RED FORECAST (OT III):

Red Forecast explores video as a means of docu-

mentation and explores its in counterpoint with the

music. The piece includes visual and audio mon-

ORCHESTRAL THEATRE CYCLE5tages of historical world events from the turbulent

1960’s, which supplements the music and illumi-

nates the themes of the composition as a whole. The

weather forecast heard throughout the piece is also a

metaphor for history: unpredictable and unalterable,

yet dynamic and occasionally violent. Where has hu-

manity come from? Where and how far are we going?

How will things end?

4. THE GATE (OT IV):

At the gate through which souls must pass to be re-

born, three women who committed suicide for love

await judgment in the fourth installment in the Or-

chestral Theatre series. Along side Yu-Ji, heroine of

Farewell My Concubine (19th Century Peking Opera),

and William Shakespeare’s Juliet from Romeo and

Juliet (16th Century England), Tan Dun has placed Ko-

haru-san from The Love Suicides at Amijima Chika-

matsu (18th Century Japan). The three stories from

three narrative traditions have as a starting point and

central motive “fatal love,” tragically enacted through

external circumstances.

- Tan Dun