Duel of Eras

Tan Dun, the music creator for blockbusters like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is the most famous Chinese composer and a musical innovator. His work Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds utilises cell phones, explicitly playing sounds of bird songs, water ripples, and wind. It's an extraordinary musical journey exploring the connections between nature and music.

Krzysztof Penderecki's Viola Concerto arose from unmet commissioning conditions. It stands as one of the greatest works for this instrument in 20th-century music literature. The Venezuelan government commissioned Penderecki to create a cantata to honour the 200th anniversary of Simón Bolívar's birth. However, the cantata was never completed, leading to the creation of this emotionally rich concerto, filled with virtuosic solo passages that transcend time despite its brief twenty-minute duration.

Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 7 is undoubtedly the most dramatic of the Czech master's symphonies. It was composed during a challenging period for the composer but lacked sentimentality or despair. Instead, it brims with extraordinary expression, melodies, and the spirit of bohemia. The symphony also showcases lyrical beauty and musical refinement. My new symphony, wrote Dvořák about the Seventh Symphony, must move the world. And indeed, it has done so steadfastly for over 200 years.

Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds by Tan Dun interpreted by the National Youth Ensembles USA conducted by Charles Dutoit:

Dvořák's Symphony No. 7 performed by Deutsche Radio Philharmonie conducted by Pietari Inkinen: