‘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

Tan Dun’s hypnotic three-movement Water Concerto is intoxicating, both visually and aurally. Using water as a musical instrument, this extraordinary piece uses innovative techniques to explore the musicality of the sounds of water. Virtuoso percussionist and soloist David Cossin displays remarkable genius as he deftly creates unique, sensuous, organic and sometimes celestial sounds using a range of water-based instruments. Conducted by the composer, the distinctive accompaniment of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, reflecting Dun’s personal combination of Chinese and Western musical traditions, is carefully interwoven and combined with the water percussion to produce a uniquely enchanting performance.

Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world's music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical, multimedia, Eastern and Western musical systems. His score for Ang Lee's film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon received Academy and Grammy Awards in 2000 and an Oscar Award for best original score in 2001. In 2008 he was selected the International Olympic Committee to write the Logo Music and Award Ceremony Music for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and composed Internet Symphony No. 1: "Eroica" commissioned by Google/YouTube as the focal point for the world’s first collaborative online orchestra.

Water Percussionists:
David Cossin (Solo)
Rika Fujii
Tamao Inano

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Tan Dun

Recorded live at the Stockholm International Composer’s Festival, Stockholm Concert Hall on 8th November 2007.

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