Tuning in to Beijing's charms

"When I wrote the music, I visualized many scenes in my head, such as my days riding a bicycle in the hutong, and the first time that I visited the Forbidden City. This piece is dedicated to Beijing, which is like my second hometown," says Tan, who left the capital after graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music and moved to New York to study at Columbia University, where he obtained his doctorate in musical arts in 1993. Since then, he has had an international career with a series of symphonic works, contemporary operas and film scores, which have been performed in some of the world's most renowned venues, from Milan's La Scala Theatre to New York's Metropolitan Opera House.

Back in 1982, Hong Kong movie director Li Han-hsiang (1926-1996) was preparing for his movie, Burning of the Imperial Palace, which tells the story of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Empress Dowager Cixi against the backdrop of the sacking and burning of the Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace, by invading Anglo-French alliance forces in 1860. After hearing Tan's first symphony, Li Sao, which the composer wrote in 1979, Li invited Tan, who was still a student of the Central Conservatory of Music, to write the movie's theme song, Yan Yang Tian (Bright Sunny Day).

Tan went by bicycle to visit the director, the first time that he entered the Forbidden City.

"I was overwhelmed by the imperial palace," says Tan. "I had seen the beauty of everyday life in the hutong. The Forbidden City showed me another side of Beijing, which was majestic.

"The music is about celebrating the heritage of the ancient city," he adds. "In some ways, it almost feels like coming full circle. I played Chinese musical instruments at rituals in my hometown, which was also spiritual, dealing with the ever-living spirits."