Tan Dun Quotes

But while it took ten days to write the music, I had been working on every aspect of the score for four years. To me, the phenomenon of composing, sitting down and writing at a desk, is merely putting down what you already have composed in your mind. It's just the mechanical process. It took four years to compose the score, and ten days to write it down. This is one of the big rumors about my work. People always think that I'm super-fast. But actually, they're wrong! I'm very slow in terms of pre-conceptualizing. I spend a significant period of time embracing the body of the creation - talking to the director, etc., and I get so involved in a film that I can compose without sleeping for three days! In a way, it's very fast - but it's also very slow.
Tan Dun (about Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon)

I am a composer doing both, and I don't know what other people's experiences are, but I think honestly that there is no difference. Artistically, both are extremely creative, and technically, there are normal distinctions - it's not a big deal. When you write a chamber music piece or when you write an opera - they're the same, but they're different, of course. The same goes for writing for film. All of the people involved are humans and artists, and there's a soul that you need to reach. No matter if you're doing a symphony or a film - they all have the same goal.
Tan Dun