‘We are surrounded by paper in our lives: our imaginations are captured and recorded in words or pictures, as we express newly discovered feelings about ourselves and the world around us. For a long time, I have been developing the idea of organic music, which embodies sounds of nature, water, paper, ceramics, and the mind. The environment is related to our lives, and spiritually, everything germinates from one seed of creativity.’ Tan Dun

Paper, normally a utilitarian material, becomes a solo instrument in Tan Dun’s ingenious and inventive Paper Concerto, fusing orchestral music and organic sounds to create accessible, even melodious, music that is almost beyond imagination. Intriguing sounds are created by all manner of different papers, so that they appear elemental rather than simplistic, tapping into something basic in the fabric of our lives. In a remarkable and unforgettable concert experience, Tan Dun directs the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and soloist Haruka Fujii in a vivid demonstration of his belief that orchestral music, far from being static and traditional, still has the capacity for experimentation and the power to stimulate in extraordinary ways.

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.

Paper Percussionists:
Haruka Fujii (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.