Gong Linna: Cloud River Mountain

Updated March 9, 2020: In response to domestic coronavirus developments, Stanford University is strongly discouraging all large-scale university gatherings of 150 people or more, effective March 4 through April 15. Stanford Live, in compliance with the university’s decision, is moving to cancel large-scale performances within this time frame. This performance has been canceled—read more.

Superstar Chinese fusion singer Gong Linna sets new lyrics to centuries-old Chinese melodies backed by the musicians of Bang on a Can. Gong’s husband, German composer Robert Zollitsch (Lao Luo), composes many of the brilliantly staged pieces. In 2010, Linna’s performance of the song “Tan Te” on Chinese national television to billions of viewers made her an overnight sensation, vaulting her to celebrity status. In recent years she has starred on television in China but she remains virtually unknown to the Western world.