Chinese musician Tan Dun was awarded the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Board of the Venice Biennale on Friday in recognition of his music rooted in traditional Chinese culture but also global innovation.
Tan, known for his score for Oscar-winning film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” as well as music for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, heard the news in Shanghai, where he is busy preparing for a concert of work inspired by the Mogao Grottoes, the network of caves in Dunhuang, northwest China that contains a treasure trove of ancient Buddhist art and scriptures.
Many of the scriptures discovered in the caves have been dispersed around the world, and Tan has traveled around locating and researching them. The project has seen him recreate old instruments pictured in the Mogao artworks.
Chinese musicians and composer Tan Dun / CFP Photo
Following the Venice Biennale honor, Tan told Xinhua how he found a large stash of sutras from the caves in the British Library, London two years ago. He said it included about 1,500 manuscripts that have been invaluable in informing his new work, “Dunhuang Remnants.”
Tan said his aim was to “resurrect 2,000 years of the story” with “Dunhuang Remnants," which will be played at the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival in May.
