A Chinese folk music concert by Munich-born composer Robert Zollistch on Sunday evening at Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall brought new meaning to the phrase "East Meets West."

Robert Zollitsch came to China to study music at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music some 20 years ago, and has since made China his home. Zollitsch considers himself a Chinese composer and is known in China by the rather familiar Chinese name "Lao Luo." He is the genius behind hit songs such as "Jing Ye Si," "Fa Hai Ni Bu Dong Ai," and "Tan Te," songs which made his wife, singer Gong Lin'na an overnight sensation.

"Tan Te" means “anxious,” and the song has practically no intelligible lyrics. It is a musical display of what it is like to be "on the edge."

Zollitsch's music closely examines daily life and reaches deep into Chinese culture. He often writes music based on Chinese poetry and combines traditional Chinese instruments with Western instruments.

Referred to by Zollitsch as "Xin Yin Yue," or “New Music,” his work constitutes a new wave of Chinese folk music. At a time when Chinese folk music has lost its prestige and popularity, Zollitsch is determined to reinvigorate it.

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