Renowned Chinese musician dedicates new composition to fighting coronavirus outbreak

The premiere of renowned Chinese musician Tan Dun's new composition, Sound Pagoda -- The 12 Sounds of Wuhan, was performed by the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in the Queen Elizabeth Hall here on Saturday.

The concert, conducted by Tan, was the first held by the international music community to extend love, care and support to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has so far caused over 1,600 deaths and infected more than 68,000 people in China.

Around two pools of clean water in the center of the stage were placed 12 gongs, one of the many kinds of Chinese musical instruments which first made its way into Western orchestras.

Dedicated to supporting Wuhan's battle against the epidemic, Tan, who has won Academy and Grammy Awards for his original piece for the Oscar-winning blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, created the new composition during his flight from New York to Brussels earlier this week.

The composition was written to honor Wuhan's percussion instruments as the city is known for its cymbals and gongs throughout the world. The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra has three Wuhan gongs which were played in the performance.