“挑不起嶄新的思考就無法占有一席之地”

“挑不起嶄新的思考就無法占有一席之地”

"WITHOUT BRAND NEW THINKING THERE WILL BE NO POSITION FOR YOU"

N=NIHAO

T=TAN DUN

N：How do you think it's possible to tell the story of the vast Eastern traditional culture through music? Are you afraid that it may be misinterpreted?

T: Music is not like Literature, nor painting, which use stories and visuals to present culture. Music is more about feelings, enlightenment and the communication of the soul. It's just like scanning a QR code, the message will be instantly presented. My music is never about “explanation”, but a very intuitive feeling. Sometimes when I spend such a long time in one place, suddenly a single piece of melody, or set of lyrics will just hit me. It is an abstract feeling, but also one that is most likely to touch people. Recently, Coco Lee performed the theme song that I wrote for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the reality show “I'm a singer Ⅳ”.

The song was written 15 years ago, but when the music started, it brought back people's memories. So, I believe the function of fi lm music also includes preserving stories and pictures. This May, our“The Martial Arts Trilogy” concert in Guangzhouwill attempt to overlay three different languages of arts: literary texts, images and music. I believe the energy they produce will be enormous, and it will be a very unique experience.

N: Why do you think both East and West accept your music?

T: (Laughs) probably because I'm a very sensitive person, especially towards nature and emotions. I'm a bit like Li Bai, and a bit like Du Fu. Westerners could hear the air, the land, and the nature of the East in my music. They can also hear the emotions of the Chinese people. Like poetry, it has celebrations, but it also has joys, sorrows, angers, ect. It is just like when I fi rst heard Beethoven, I was so touched by his style that was so alien to me. When Westerners hear Yo Yo Ma's performance of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" for the fi rst time, they are transported to another world. This is what I believe really connects people.

N: Why do you think martial arts music can become a representation of Chinese music?

T: No-one has proposed "martial arts" music as a genre before. I think the aesthetics of Chinese music has a lot in common with traditional martial arts. For example, musicians believe in "silence as the best music" as Kung-fu masters believe that "no action as the best move". Taoists believe that "great music rarely makes a sound", and "a great image does not have a form". When Kung-fu masters prefer to have "endless" move after move, good music should be able to be heard even after three days, to haunt the listener. The philosophical, spiritual inclination, and even rhythms of traditional music have many similarities to martial arts.

N: You have often made unexpected "transboundary" pieces. Are you trying to make innovations in traditional music and culture intentionally?

T: For an artist, how big your heart is decides how vast a horizon you can reach. If you have a greater understanding of life, you will see more possibilities, accept more, and your perception will be broadened. Art is very demanding and stingy. If your sense of art and your creative vision isn't new, then you cannot provoke a new thought, nor a new national vision. Consequently, you will not have a place in art.

N: What is the "new" thing that you have recently perceived?

T: In this age of social networking, the most valuable things tend to be the most ancient things, preserved through history, whether it's art, technology, or concepts, such as "the harmony between heaven and man". The West is even more advanced in this area. Don't you think that the core concept of Steve Jobs is the epitome of the Oriental "Zen" culture? I have often observed the most prominent scientists, politicians, and artists in the West and noticed that for the most part, their thoughts are more or less ref l ected in the most ancient Chinese cultures and music. Much of western knowledge is based upon discoveries made in the east. Chinese culture has become a valuable inheritance of the human race, so we can't afford to lose it.

N：如何用音樂講解博大的東方傳統(tǒng)文化，會不會因跨文化被誤讀？

T：音樂不像文學(xué)、繪畫要用文字的、視覺的方式呈現(xiàn)，它更偏向感覺、感悟，是靈魂的溝通。就像掃二維碼一樣，一掃就聯(lián)通了信息。我的音樂從來不刻意去強調(diào)“講解”，而是很直覺地去感受。有時，突然一句音樂出來，一句歌詞出來，我的眼淚會大顆地落下、心撲通地跳。這種感動很抽象，但也最容易打動人。最近，李玟在《我是歌手4》的總決賽中，唱了我為《臥虎藏龍》作的主題曲《月光愛人》，獲得冠軍。這是15年前的歌，但是音樂一響，那些愛恨情仇馬上回來了。原來，電影音樂是可以存儲故事、存儲畫面的。我們這次5月在廣州的《武俠三部曲》音樂會，嘗試將三種語言疊加——文學(xué)、畫面和音樂，這種能量很大，將會是一種非常不同的體驗。

N：為什么東西方都能接受譚盾？

T：（笑）可能因為我是一個對自然、對情感都很敏銳的人，有點像李白，也有點像杜甫。西方人在我的音樂里，聽到了東方的空氣、大地、自然，也聽到中國人的七情六欲。就像詩歌一樣，它里面有歌舞升平，也有喜怒哀樂。我第一次聽貝多芬時被從沒有見過的情懷打動。外國人第一次聽馬友友拉《臥虎藏龍》，也觸到并進入另一個世界。這都是通的。

N：武俠音樂為什么能成為東方音樂的代表之一？

T：武俠音樂以前一直沒人提過。我認為，中國音樂的美學(xué)與武俠的傳統(tǒng)，在精神層面有很多相似。比如“無聲勝有聲”和“無招勝有招”，比如“大音希聲”，比如武功高手出手的后勁綿綿不絕，好音樂則是聲聲不斷。這里面的哲學(xué)含義，甚至韻律都很相似。

N：你常常有這樣出乎意料的“跨界”創(chuàng)作，是在有意識地對傳統(tǒng)音樂進行“創(chuàng)新”嗎？

T：對于一個藝術(shù)家來說，心有多大，能到達的邊界就有多大。生活中的認知越豐富，眼見的可能性越多；接受的陌生越多，理解力越深厚，胸懷也越大。藝術(shù)史是非常挑剔和吝嗇的，如果你對藝術(shù)的感悟、角度不是新的，不能挑起一個嶄新的思考，一個新的民族性視野，就不能在其中占有一席之地。

N：你最新領(lǐng)悟到的“新”是什么？

T：在當下的時代，越新越有價值的往往是越古老的東西。不管是藝術(shù)上的、工藝上的、還是技術(shù)上的，比如對“天人合一”理念的運用，西方甚至走在了東方的前面。喬布斯的創(chuàng)作核心里，難道不是東方的“禪”嗎？我現(xiàn)在觀察西方最杰出的科學(xué)家、政治家、藝術(shù)家，發(fā)現(xiàn)在到達這個程度的人群中，他們的所思所想里都多多少少吸取了中國國學(xué)、國樂里的東西。每個人幾乎都有這方面的通識。可見，這些是非常寶貴的人類財富，我們自己千萬不能丟。

TAN'ACHIEVEMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS

譚盾和他的記錄

2015/ 2013

Named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2013, an in 2015 for a second time.

兩次擔任聯(lián)合國教科文組織全球親善大使（華人首位）

2014

Happy Chinese New Year Concerto, conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, which's became China's cultural signature to the world.

與墨爾本交響樂團合作的“歡樂春節(jié)”新年音樂會，成為世界和中國的文化名片

2013

Created The Secret Songs of Women, a symphony for 13 microf i lms, harp and orchestra

創(chuàng)作微電影交響史詩《女書》

2012

Granted Shostakovich Prize by the Yuri Bashmet International Charitable Foundation

獲得世界頂級“肖斯塔科維奇音樂大獎”

2011

Awarded with the Bach Prize

獲得德國最有威望的作曲家大獎——巴赫獎

2010

Featured in "Experience China", a 60-second promotional video in New York's Times Square, among other “Enchanting Chinese Artists”

擔任國家形象宣傳人物

Served as “Cultural Ambassador to the World” for World EXPO Shanghai and created Water Heavens and Peony Pavilion to raise awareness of environmental protection.

擔任中國上海世博會全球文化大使，并為此創(chuàng)作環(huán)保藝術(shù)《水樂堂》及《牡丹亭》

2008

Commissioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to write the Logo Music and Award Ceremony Music for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

應(yīng)邀創(chuàng)作中國奧運會徽標LOGO音樂和頒獎音樂

His fi rst Internet Symphony, “Eroica”, which was commissioned by Google/YouTube, and reached over 23 million people online.

與Google/YouTube合作世界首部網(wǎng)絡(luò)交響樂《英雄》，擁有高達二千五百萬人次在線欣賞量。

2006

Created the Opera “The First Emperor”, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center in New York City, with acclaimed tenor Plácido Domingo as Emperor Qin.

創(chuàng)作歌劇《秦始皇》，由世界男高音巨星多明戈首演于紐約大都會歌劇院

Named one of the “Ten Chinese who Inf l uenced the World” by Chinese prestige media

被評為“影響世界的十位華人之一?！?/p>

2003

Manuscript of his multimedia work, “The Map”, was collected by the Carnegie Hall Composers Gallery.

多媒體代表作品《地圖》手稿被紐約卡內(nèi)基音樂廳世界作曲大師手稿廊永久收藏并展出

2002

His Album of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won the Grammy's Best Instrumental Composition Written Specif i cally For A Motion Picture or for Television award.

憑《臥虎藏龍》獲格萊美最佳電影原創(chuàng)音樂專輯大獎

2001

Won Academy Award, Best Original Score with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

憑電影《臥虎藏龍》配樂獲得奧斯卡金像獎最佳原創(chuàng)音樂獎

1999

Won Grawemeyer Award, Music Composition with Marco Polo.

歌劇《馬可波羅》獲得格文美爾大獎

1997

Named one of the ten “Most Inf l uential International Musicians” by New York Times.

被《紐約時報》評為“國際樂壇最重要的十位音樂家之一”