On 21 September 2026, Gramophone, the century-old international classical music publication, shared a symphonic performance video with audiences around the world. The work featured in the video, Nature and the Universe, is the third movement of Symphony No. 3, The Rise and Fall of AI Humanity, by 13-year-old Chinese composer Carey Tan. The performance was recorded on 7 September at London’s Cadogan Hall and was given by the Philharmonia Orchestra.

7 September 2026: “Brothers in Harmony” concert at Cadogan Hall, London

In recent years, the young Chinese composer has completed a substantial body of original music, including symphonies, a piano concerto and chamber works. His compositions have been presented at venues including the Royal College of Music in London, the China National Opera House Theatre in Beijing and the Musikverein in Vienna.

During the 2026 summer international tour, Brothers in Harmony — Where Classics Meet New Voices, Carey appeared alongside his elder brother, pianist Kevin Tan, performing across the United Kingdom, China, the Czech Republic, Romania and Austria.

During the tour, Carey was interviewed by both BBC Radio 4’s flagship Today programme and BBC World Service’s Newshour, making him one of the relatively few young Chinese composers to receive individual attention from major British news programmes.

Symphony No. 3, The Rise and Fall of AI Humanity, grew out of Carey’s reflections on the age of artificial intelligence. The work imagines an AI civilisation moving from its creation and prosperity to imbalance and eventual collapse. Yet the symphony is not intended as a rejection of artificial intelligence itself.

“I don’t think AI is necessarily a negative thing. What we really need to be careful about is whether, in our pursuit of convenience, speed and efficiency, we gradually lose our creativity, individuality and our ability to appreciate the beauty of nature,” Carey expressed in his BBC interviews.

In his view, technology should serve humanity, while human emotion, judgement, creativity and the ways in which people connect with one another at a deeper level remain irreplaceable.

7 September 2026: “Brothers in Harmony” concert at Cadogan Hall, London

The Brothers in Harmony — Where Classics Meet New Voices tour itself presented this kind of musical dialogue.

Kevin Tan performed major works by Beethoven and Rachmaninoff, continuing the tradition of European classical music. Carey, meanwhile, transformed experiences drawn from his upbringing in China, his travels and his observations of the world into original symphonic works, collaborating with professional European orchestras and bringing this music to audiences in cities including London, Vienna and Berlin.