Writing music that straddles Chinese and Western traditions, Tan Dun  is a boundary-breaking artist of limitless imagination and inclusivity,  conjuring a soundscape that makes use of everything from ancient relics to smartphones. This first American performance of Five Muses of Dunhuang brings to life forgotten instruments painted centuries ago on devotional murals in Chinese caves. As a conductor, Tan has unique insights into another perceptive witness and recreator of human ritual, Stravinsky, especially in this rarely heard transcription from a Chinese-themed opera. Stravinsky, with his keen ear for real-life rituals, leans into the real splashy Fireworks and Chinese-themed opera transcription.

Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds is designed as an interactive piece between cell phones and orchestra. The audience will be invited to use their cell phones to play the audio recording linked here, which will be also available on the day of the performance by scanning a QR code.

Artist
Tan Dun, conductor
Zhang Meng, sheng
Han Yan, pipa
Liu Wenwen, suona
Zhu Yunqi, erhu
Yang Bowen, chiba

Repertoire
STRAVINSKY Fireworks
TAN DUN Five Muses of Dunhuang (U.S. premiere)
STRAVINSKY Song of the Nightingale
TAN DUN Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds

The BSO's AAPI Festival is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts