Presenter：Joanna Lee 李正欣

Explore the musical world stemming from the perspective of the five traditional Chinese elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth). The initial inspiration for this series is the eponymous work by Chinese composer Chen Qigang. His work Wu Xing (in English, Five Elements) is a suite for orchestra written in 1999, commissioned by Radio France. 

1.        Metal – brass music comes to the fore in this first episode but Holst’s Venus (金星) also makes an appearance
2.        Wood – we explore the element through percussion pieces and visit Respighi’s Pines, Strauss’s Woods and Sibelius’s forests
3.        Water – an element depicted through so many musical masterpieces anywhere from the Blue Danube to the Vltava, to the Yellow River, Chopin’s ‘Raindrop’ Prelude and Debussy’s La Mer
4.        Fire – the element associated with Hell and the Underworld that makes for some of the most gripping passages in music, one of them being the Dies Irae
5.        Earth – we discover this element in the opening to Haydn’s Creation and embrace it through Mahler’s songs

Metal, wood, water, fire and earth beget, complement and oppose each other. Hear how.