With worldwide acclaim and numerous awards, Xu Shuya is one of the leading composers to emerge from the Chinese ‘New Wave’. His fascination with his Chinese heritage is eloquently expressed in pieces such as Insolation, inspired by the heroic myth of Kaufu Chasing the Sun, and Yun, which unites the famous ‘Purple Bamboo Melody’ with symphonic textures and gestures. Cristal au Soleil Couchant expresses the intensity of light and colours at sundown, while Echos du Vieux Champ conjures nostalgic memories of the composer’s homeland. Shaped by spiritual concepts and the Tibetan landscape, Nirvana evokes the ‘bittersweet pleasure’ of ‘faint distant melodies, like tunes from heaven’.