AllMovie

In 1999, acclaimed Chinese-American composer Tan Dun was commissioned to create an original piece for the Boston Symphony Orchestra; inspired by the work of a itinerant Chinese musician who created unique melodies using stones which he had witnessed years before, Tan Dun traveled to the Hunan province of China and recorded hours of folk music, using their melodic patterns as a backdrop for a larger piece. The completed work, "The Map," was described as its creator as "a multimedia event in rural China," and features both Chinese and Western instruments in a piece that attempts to bridge the cultural and aesthetic barriers of East and West. Tan Dun: The Map is a performance documentary which preserves a special performance of Tan Dun's trail-blazing performance piece, performed by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the composer, and featuring soloist Anssi Karttunen on cello.