04/25/2026
溫徹斯特夫人在上：
二十年前，閣下的傳奇故事感動末學，遂根據加州民歌寫成了十三章的民族管絃樂《溫徹斯特奇宅組曲》，由火鳳青年國樂團首演，演奏逾一小時。
《奇宅》一作，小樂手們甚是喜愛，一有空便哼唱其旋律：吃飯時、乘車時、排練休息時；觀眾們亦喜愛，一千一百座位的加利福尼亞劇院座無虛席，掌聲雷動；溫徹斯特奇宅管理部門亦深為欣賞，邀請全體火鳳團員與家長赴此經典景區作客；中英文電視、電台、報刊、雜誌爭相報導；文教界亦交口稱譽，傳為美談。
莫非是閣下冥冥之中，引領矽谷交響樂團團長前來觀賞火鳳音樂會？當他聽畢《奇宅組曲》，即刻邀我創作一首由數件中國樂器獨奏，整支西洋管絃樂團協奏之交響作品。於是，兩年後，世界首演了二胡、琵琶、笙交響組曲《老城童趣》，再度掀起了媒體熱潮。
民族樂器之交響協奏曲，單件者已不多見；兩件者更如龍鱗鳳爪；三件者，十六年過去，至今尚未再見。二0一0年後，我又編寫數首組曲，托夫人之福，每次演出，皆有類似《奇宅》首演時之熱烈反響。
今年，火鳳紀念《奇宅》首演二十周年，復排〈建造謙卑之家〉、〈鄰童樓戲〉、〈友人捐獻〉、〈午後乾果棚〉四段。分發樂譜時，兩位火鳳創始老團員告訴我：不必再給譜，她們仍保存著當年的舊譜。我聞之愕然。
二十年間，她們幾經遷徙，甚至歷經結婚生子等人生巨變。是何等力量，使她們在老物件取捨之間，仍選擇保留這些在許多人眼中毫無價值的舊紙？
在下凡胎俗骨，一介樂生，何來過人之力？想必是閣下愛世界、愛世人、愛歷史文化、愛藝術音樂的大愛氣質，冥冥中感召著每一位接近的人。
誠盼此次聽到《奇宅組曲》的觀眾，亦能從音樂中感受到溫徹斯特夫人愛的精神、愛的力量，並將這份感受帶入生活之中。
謝坦 稽首�二〇二六 丙午吉日�矽谷 獵人角下
To Mrs. Wi******er, Above:
Twenty years ago, Your Ladyship’s legendary story moved this humble student deeply. Inspired by California folk melodies, I thus composed the thirteen-movement Chinese orchestral suite The Wi******er Mystery House Suite, which was premiered by the Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra and performed for more than an hour.
This work, Mystery House, was dearly loved by the young musicians, who would hum its melodies whenever they had a spare moment—while eating, riding in the car, or resting during rehearsals. Audiences loved it as well: the 1,100-seat California Theatre was completely filled, and thunderous applause resounded throughout the hall. The management of the Wi******er Mystery House was likewise deeply appreciative, inviting all Firebird members and their families to visit this iconic landmark as honored guests. Chinese- and English-language television, radio, newspapers, and magazines competed to cover the event, while leaders in education and culture praised it warmly and spoke of it as a memorable achievement.
Could it have been Your Ladyship, working invisibly, who guided the president of the Silicon Valley Symphony to attend a Firebird concert? Upon hearing The Wi******er Mystery House Suite, he immediately invited me to compose a symphonic work featuring several Chinese solo instruments with a full Western symphony orchestra in accompaniment. Thus, two years later, the symphonic suite Old Town Childhood Delights, featuring erhu, p**a, and sheng, received its world premiere and once again stirred a wave of media excitement.
Symphonic concertos for Chinese instruments are already uncommon when written for a single solo instrument; for two solo instruments they are rarer still, like dragon scales and phoenix claws. For three solo instruments together, sixteen years have passed, and I have yet to encounter another. After 2010, I composed several more suites. By Your Ladyship’s blessing, each performance received an enthusiastic response reminiscent of the premiere of Mystery House.
This year, Firebird commemorates the twentieth anniversary of that premiere by reviving four movements: Building the Humble House, Neighborhood Children at Play Upstairs, Gifts from Friends, and The Afternoon Nut Shed. When distributing the scores, two founding veteran members of Firebird told me there was no need to give them new copies—they had preserved their original scores all these years.
I was astonished.
Over two decades, they had moved homes many times and undergone life-changing events such as marriage and raising children. What force could have led them, when deciding what old belongings to keep or discard, to preserve these worn sheets of paper that many would consider worthless?
I am but an ordinary man of mortal flesh, merely a student of music—whence could such influence come? Surely it is Your Ladyship’s great spirit of love: love for the world, love for humanity, love for history and culture, love for art and music, silently inspiring every person who has drawn near.
It is my sincere hope that those who hear The Wi******er Mystery House Suite this time may also feel, through the music, Mrs. Wi******er’s spirit of love and the power of love, and carry that feeling into their own lives.
With deepest respect,�
Xie Tan
An auspicious day in the year Bingwu, 2026
�Hunter’s Point, Silicon Valley
