Tan Dun's 'Contrabass Concerto: The Wolf'

An international consortium of orchestras commissioned Tan Dun's newest concerto for the principal string bass players of each ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO), and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. The Concertgebouw, its principal bassist Dominic Seldis, and composer/conductor Tan Dun will lead off its string of premieres on January 28 in the orchestra's "AAA: CHINA here" festival.

While composing, Tan Dun consulted frequently with Seldis to give voice to both the velvety expressive sound and the percussive abilities of the instrument in the virtuosic Contrabass Concerto: The Wolf. Tan Dun had recently finished reading the Chinese novel Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong. A period epic and a fable for modern days, the novel depicts the dying culture of the Mongols — the ancestors of the Mongol hordes who at one time terrorized the world — and the parallel extinction of the animal they believe to be sacred: the fierce and otherworldly Mongolian wolf.

Visit www.concertgebouw.nl for performance details and tickets
Dominic Seldis and Tan Dun introduce The Wolf:

Dominic Seldis and Tan Dun rehearsing The Wolf:

Tan Dun's 'Contrabass Concerto: The Wolf'

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