Widely regarded as one of Chinas leading composers, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Zhou Long writes music that is consistently compelling. The Rhyme of Taigu revives the spirit of Chinese court music from the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), drawing on traditional percussion instruments. Symphony Humen 1839, co-composed with Chen Yi, vividly commemorates the public burning of over 1000 tonnes of opium, an event that was to lead to the First Opium War between Great Britain and China. All three works, written in the first decade of the 21st c., receive here their world premiere recordings. Conducting the New Zealand Symphony is the young, fast rising Singapore-born, Russian and American trained Darrell Ang, who has gained widespread attention for his compelling podium authority and authoritative readings of the core symphonic repertoire especially the great masterpieces by French and Russian composers, in addition to being one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary Asian symphonic music.