Synopsis:

Performed in the Esplanade Concert Hall at Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts in 2012, Tan Dun's Martial Arts Trilogy was hailed by The Straits Times as "a feast for the senses". Experience the internationally renowned composer's lavish scores for three Chinese blockbusters: Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Zhang Yimou's Hero (2002) and Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet (2006) in these special recordings of the thrilling live performance, conducted by Tan himself.

The Tan Dun Martial Arts Trilogy comprises a trio of concertos: the violin concerto Hero, the cello concerto Crouching Tiger, and the piano concerto The Banquet. Performed here by the Singapore Festival Orchestra (now known as the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra), the Martial Arts Trilogy is a cinematic experience in itself, presented in the style and structure of a three-act opera.

Martial Arts Trilogy features Tan Dun's musical compositions for three films in which the female protagonists sacrifice their love and life for different reasons: The character Jade, in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, gave her life for her love of the wuxia (martial arts) dream. In Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet, Qing Nü traded life and love for desire and revenge, while in Zhang Yimou's Hero, the character Snow sacrificed herself for her beloved country.

About Tan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese-American composer and conductor who came to prominence with his composition Feng Ya Song for string quartet, which won the Weber Prize in 1983. Other prominent works include Four Secret Roads of Marco Polo, his Internet Symphony, which has reached over 15 million people online as well as the Organic Music Trilogy - Water, Paper, Earth. He has also received some of music's most coveted honours, including a Grammy Award, an Academy Award and most recently, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. His latest major work is the oratorio Buddha Passion and the musical tribute 12 Sounds of Wuhan, composed in support of the fight against COVID-19.