Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng acknowledges no aesthetic borders, weaving together haunting melodies and sonorities from sources as diverse as Chinese, Kazakhstani and Tibetan music, or even his own dreams, like silken threads into shimmering brocades of sound.

His love of song and dance, blending Asian and Western instrumental textures, imbues his music with a fascinating, highly personal cultural counterpoint that has won him immense popularity, critical acclaim and an enviable reputation as an ever-fresh voice in cross-cultural music.

The Sunday Times called 8554499, the previous disc of Chinese Music in the Naxos catalogue, “an excellent, unusual bargain.”