Oscar winner Tan Dun to present concert

Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun, who won the Oscar for the original score of the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, has always been ahead of the curve.

Tan, a native of Changsha, Hunan province, was trained at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Despite his classical training, Tan has created music with the sounds of water, wind and paper. He has also documented nyushu, an ancient language used mostly by women in Hunan.

Now, he is collaborating with folk musicians of the China National Traditional Orchestra to present his works - the Fire Ritual Violin Concerto and the Cello Concerto Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon - at the capital's National Center for the Performing Arts on Friday.