60 old this year, the Chinese-American, Oscar-winning (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2001) Tan Dun is one of today's most important composers. His operas (Tea, The First Emperor) have been performed in the world's leading opera houses and concert halls. His original style synthesises traditional Eastern music with American and European avantgarde. Hundreds of millions around the world were listening to the piece he composed for the award ceremonies at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, played over 300 times.