Tan Dun
Concerto for Zheng and
String Orchestra

"A re-arrangement of the "Pipa Concerto"
(1999) which is based on "Ghost Opera"
(1995) for string quartet and pipa with
water, metal, stones, and paper.
In the "Zheng Concerto" the players are
not only playing their own instruments,
but also contributing stomps, yips, yells
sighs and hand-slaps, sometimes
in imitation of Eastern instruments.
It's a cross-temporal and cross-cultural
dialogue that touches on the past, present,
future, and the eternal.
The Concerto employs elements from
Chinese, Tibetan, English, and American
cultures; and combines performance
traditions of the European classical concert
and the shamanistic ritual.
Wu Man called it a "giddy merging of
traditions and a leapfrogging through music
history, in which cultural integration is
effortless. The Zheng may be exotic in
Western music, but it is no longer alien.
No single work more exemplifies Tan's range,
which extends from uncompromising
experimentalism to populism."

I. Andante Molto (1/4)


II. Allegro (2/4)

III. Adagio Molto (3/4)

IV. Allegro Vivace (4/4)