Piano Concerto No. 1 – The Explorers was completed by Carey Tan at the age of eleven. The concerto consists of three movements — The Pacific Diver, The Sahara Runner, and The Mars Explorer. Through a symphonic musical language, the work portrays the extreme challenges, magnificent landscapes, and profound emotional impact experienced by humanity in its exploration of the ocean, the desert, and outer space.
The concerto was awarded the Platinum Prize in the Orchestra Category and the Poetic Artistic Musical Genius Special Prize at the 2025 Global Genius Music Competition. It also received the “Promising Young Talent Prize” at the 2025 Vienna International Classical Music Composition Competition.
On 9 August 2025, Carey Tan presented the world premiere of the work at the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein, performing with the Arad Philharmonic Orchestra. On 2 November, he performed the piece again with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonie. Both performances were met with enthusiastic applause and cheers from nearly 2,000 audience members in attendance.
Composer’s Notes:
“This concerto depicts the hardships and trials faced by explorers around the world as they confront and overcome different challenges.
The first movement, The Pacific Diver, is dedicated to all those courageous divers who conquer the ocean and face immense challenges. Through changes in dynamics, articulation, and orchestration, the movement portrays the shifting conditions of the sea at different times. It opens with a dark low E in the double bass, symbolising the formidable challenge awaiting the diver. I sought to draw listeners into the vast and restless depths of the Pacific, allowing them to feel the diver battling towering waves and violent storms, alongside imagined companions of the deep. For inspiration, I personally kayaked through rough Atlantic waters. That experience enabled me to feel, both physically and spiritually, the resilience required to confront the immensity of the sea, and I transformed that sensation into musical tension and rhythmic drive.
The second movement, The Sahara Runner, is dedicated to marathon runners who persevere through extreme heat and exhaustion in the desert. The inspiration came from my geography teacher at boarding school, a passionate desert marathon runner whose experiences deeply impressed me. Built upon a bright and continuously driving ostinato, the music reflects both the hardship of extreme conditions and the indescribable joy of crossing the finish line. Through vivid pianistic language, I portray the runner’s determination in the final sprint and the courage required to endure scorching sunlight, sandstorms, and fatigue. When my teacher first heard the piece, his eyes filled with tears. He told me that the music seemed to take him back to those seven days and seven nights of confronting nature and surpassing his limits — a response that deeply moved me. Triplet rhythms in the cello and double bass run throughout the movement, reappearing in different instruments and eventually expanding across the full string section. Different sections symbolise different days of the marathon, and in the middle there is even a passage representing a scorpion approaching the runner in the desert. The triumphant B major finale expresses both the runner’s courage and the reward of perseverance. For inspiration, I also undertook physical activity in the intense heat of the Abu Dhabi desert.
The third movement, The Mars Explorer, is dedicated to those committed to advancing space exploration and aerospace development. With harmonies subtly influenced by Stravinsky, I extend the narrative of exploration beyond Earth. The movement begins with mysterious “alien whispers” and unfolds into a fantastical journey to Mars, portraying explorers stepping into the unknown and even engaging in imagined communication with extraterrestrial beings. Dissonant melodies and harmonies express confusion and unfamiliarity during the journey, while mathematical structural thinking shapes the musical architecture. From bar 140 onward, parallel “conversations” between humans and Martians initially reveal tension and disagreement, gradually evolving into harmony. The concerto concludes with a joyful “return to Earth”: the opening theme reappears in E major instead of E minor, while the Martians are symbolically welcomed through a final minor subdominant gesture. During the composition process, I rode roller coasters and watched science fiction films to stimulate my imagination. The concerto ultimately ends in a blazing E major, symbolising humanity’s boundless curiosity, determination to move forward, and belief in our ability to survive and flourish in new worlds.”
