The cinema in Tan Dun’s concert music
The 6 October concert is performed by Shanghai Opera House Orchestra. Its material comes from three films: Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Banquet. These are scores whose dramatic identity carries beyond the screen, making a film-music programme with a clear composer at its centre.
Tan’s wider concert project turns this material into works for soloists and orchestra. The publisher identifies the cello with Crouching Tiger, piano with The Banquet and violin with Hero. That is useful context for the musical design, although the Qingpu announcement does not name the individual soloists. The attraction is hearing the composer lead his own music, rather than a general evening of unrelated cinema themes.
An everyday Shanghai in song
On 7 October, Jin Chengzhi conducts Shanghai Rainbow Chamber Singers. The announced selection includes a work built from ordinary Shanghai images: magnolia sellers, a dog chasing a sprinkler truck and commuters on their way to work.
That makes a good contrast with the previous evening. Tan Dun’s programme draws on the heightened world of martial-arts cinema; the choir finds its subject in the everyday city. The pairing gives these two Qingpu dates a stronger identity than an interchangeable holiday concert bill.
The Qingpu dates
The concerts are on 6–7 October at Shangda Central Park South Garden, 833 Qing’an Road, Qingpu (青浦区青安路833号，上达中央公园南园). They form part of the 25th China Shanghai International Arts Festival’s Art Space programme. Announced prices are RMB100–280, with tickets through Damai. Check the individual date when booking: the orchestra and choir are separate programmes.