Swedish composer rocks the Olympics

Last July, the organizing committee for the Beijing Olympics selected a composition by Swedish pianist and composer Robert Wells as the official overture for the Games. The opus was selected from among more than a hundred entries to the Official Olympic Overture Competition launched two years ahead of the Games.

Wells' composition will be played hundreds of times before the curtain comes down on the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. In addition, it will also be heard at least 1,200 times on television. "This is a dream come true for me," Wells told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter shortly after hearing of his selection.

Wells is not a stranger to the Chinese entertainment industry. Previously, he has cooperated on several Chinese television gala productions. His first contact with the 2008 Olympic Games came in 2001, when he was the only Western artist to perform in a massive television extravaganza to celebrate Beijing's selection to host the Games. Last summer, Wells also participated in an event held in Tian'anmen Square to launch the one-year countdown to the Games.

The official overture remained a tightly guarded secret until the start of the Olympics. Before that, Wells only contented with saying that the melody features an up-tempo beat and elements of traditional Chinese folk music.

Jasmine Flower

Robert Wells' composition is an adaptation of a well-known Chinese folk song, Jasmine Flower, Mo Li Hua 茉莉花, which dates from the Qing dynasty. The song is also familiar to some Western listeners as it is featured in Puccini's opera Turandot. It was also played at the closing ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens by a student orchestra from Beijing University. By the time the Beijing Olympics close, the melody will be recognized by people the world over, given that the Summer Games will see a total of 302, and the Paralympics 472 medal ceremonies.

The official overture is not just any old composition, even its structure is an homage to the Games as it starts off using a pentatonic scale, with five pitches per octave, in reference to the five Olympic rings.

"I'm very proud and happy about this achievement. It's fantastic. It's an honor to get selected from such a great number of candidates, which included Tan Dun, a very famous composer in China who wrote some of the music for the medal award ceremonies. Mine was the only instrumental composition to be submitted to the contest by a Western composer."

Wells worked briefly with Tan Dun, who helped him with a part of the musical arrangements. The two only met in June for the first time.

"He is a fantastic man. He didn't take part in writing the music, but he helped me incorporate 2,000-year-old Chinese bells, string instruments and percussions to the composition. So the overture is very China-inspired, with quite an upbeat tempo," Wells says.

Chinese composer Tan Dun and Wells collaborated on the winning composition. (Image: Robert Wells)Robert Wells and his Rhapsody in Rock orchestra tour continuously, performing classical, jazz and rock music all around the world. Although most of Wells' Western fans are familiar with his big touring music show, Chinese listeners may still have a hard time appreciating a rocking version of a traditional Chinese folk song. Still, Wells believes that many Chinese music fans have already become familiar with his music through his numerous television appearances and concerts. In addition to giving concerts, Wells also holds seminars for music students and has just been granted a professorship at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. The musician has also signed a five-year contract with Heilongjiang-based piano maker Hailun.

"They have built a special grand piano for me, which is very big and bright red! It looks really cool. As long as I am touring here in China, it will travel around with me so I can play it," Wells exalts.

Breaking the ice

Although Wells has made numerous appearances before the Chinese public, a veritable breakthrough remains to be made in this vast consumer market. The artist's Chinese web pages help keep fans up to date of his latest projects, but judging by the modest number of feedback he receives, he hasn't quite yet made it to the top lineup of international artists in China.

"I have received some feedback through the site, but not much. But my concerts are usually always sold out, which is nice. Here it is pretty much so that when you release an album, most of the people download it from the internet. Now I've also translated some Chinese texts into English. But the public here is pretty tough... you can't just come here and think that you're a big star. Here you have to work every bit as hard as elsewhere."

Record sales aren't the only indicator of an artist's popularity in China. The feedback from the Chinese public can also sometimes be ruthlessly honest and instantaneous.

"The audience here is polite, but choosy. If they don't like you, they can show it by simply refusing to even applaud. But if they like you and you give a good show, then they don't hold back on praise. It's a bit like playing in northern Sweden. And I like it. I'm not so keen on an audience that is ungenuinely enthusiastic.. That's not my thing at all. Honesty is important."

Rock Beijing

Wells is a wizard at the piano. (Image: Robert Wells)Robert Wells says that he is very fond of the Chinese music culture and that he has taken a special interest in traditional Chinese folk music. Most of his concerts also feature Chinese musicians. China has a huge pool of highly talented music professionals, and pianists in particular, he says.

"Last year, I met Lang Lang, who is already a world-renowned musician at the age of 23. Then I've met many 16 and 17 year-old music students who are already just fantastic piano players. People really have a hunger for music here, and it's a great thing."

When Radio86 talked with Wells, he was preparing to give a massive concert on August 20 on a stage set up beside the National Stadium.

"It will be a huge Rhapsody in Rock music extravaganza with a big orchestra. The stage is gigantic and the venue can hold up to 20,000 people. We would have had this concert even if the composition had not won the contest," Wells says.

Over the last eight years, Wells has been engaged in a number of projects in China, which have required for him to travel between China and his native Sweden about two dozen times.

What is next in store for the international star?

"We are touring internationally a lot right now and I just have to say how lucky I feel to be able to do this, and we all are. I say "we," because this is a team effort, even if my name is the most visible one. We have a fantastic group and we've been working together on this for almost twenty years. This is a very big part of my life. It is also something that I get to share with so many people."

For more information on Robert Wells, visit http://www.wellsmusic.se/