Mixing sounds

Tan Dun continues his musical experiment with the band Hanggai, which is known for its fushion of Mongolian and rock music.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The song Shanghai Transistor is from one of the band's album, titled Horse of Colors, which was released last year. The album features the traditional sounds produced in two distinct pitches by one vocalist, folk instruments and Mongolian lyrics.

At the upcoming concert in Shanghai, the band will collaborate with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, performing six original songs, such as Horse of Colors and The Rising Sun.

Another symbol of the grasslands - the Mongolian wolf - inspired Tan's work, Contrabass Concerto: Wolf Totem in 2014. The piece of music also will be presented at the Shanghai concert.

The composer began to work on the piece after reading the Chinese novel Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong. The book tells the story of a young man's obsession with the endangered wolf in the grasslands of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

"Mirroring the human spirit and our relationship with the natural world," as the composer describes it, the piece will be performed by Alex Henery, the principal double bass player of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

With the goal of bridging the gap between classical music and young people, the composer will also present his earlier works Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds and Internet Symphony Eroica in Shanghai. In Passacaglia, Tan has incorporated the chirping of birds produced by phones. The Internet Symphony Eroica features videos of some 3,000 musicians from more than 70 countries.

If you go

7:30 pm, Monday. Shanghai Symphony Hall, 1380 Fuxing Zhonglu, Shanghai. 4008-210-522.