This piece depicts a plum blossom struggling to survive in the bleak and frigid cold winter. The plum usually blossoms in mid-winter during January and February when all flowers die. The piece starts with a piano theme representing the peaceful start of the winter. The theme is followed by a motive played by the erhu representing the cold winter breeze. This is further intensified with a denser rhythm. The sad but beautiful erhu melody portrays the plum blossom standing alone in the cold trying its best to resist the ruthless wind. B Dorian is used to depict a sign of life of the plum in the deadly winter. However, this sign is shortly shattered as the wind completely destroys the plum blossom bringing the piece to its climax. The motive returns as the wind subsides, but without the appearance of the plum blossom. Finally, the last chord is left unresolved symbolising a faint hope of spring.

This piece describes the scenery of a bamboo forest. Dense bamboo, growing roots and flowing water combine into the scene of the forest. The piece is composed in ABA’ form with transitions between sections. Section A alternates the meters of 4/4 and 7/8 in a fast tempo with a repeated melody in E minor and A minor. It invites the listeners to admire the beauty of nature in travelling through the bamboo forest. Section B is a rather lyrical and sentimental section written in different meters, urging the listeners to feel the changing atmospheres. The story zooms into a little river in the forest — a perpetual flow of water and the fountain of all living creatures. The free-time section intentionally added is to sketch the growth of bamboo, from delicate roots to strong culms, at different speeds. Section A’ returns with re-harmonisation, more percussive sounds and intensified instrumentation.

This piece documents the last hours of a sick, old man. Four mystical chords lead into the first theme. The violin plays a melancholic melody depicting the old man lying on his bed alone. The increasingly intense music signifies the man struggling with death. His experience of the anguish of the chaotic and hectic world is flooded by instability and selfishness.

The old man’s unconsciousness is symbolised by a sweeping pentatonic glissando that leads into the second theme — an imaginary realm. He sees mirages of a calm and carefree place, which is illustrated by the erhu melody loosely based on the pentatonic scale. The old man feels comforted and longs to stay there forever. Yet the four mystical chords return in the form of a piano cadenza, bringing back a reiteration of the first melancholic theme. The old man is in a bleak and dire situation. The violin plays pizzicato and the erhu plays stuttering syncopation suggesting his heavy and faltering heartbeat. Despite his critical condition, the mirages provide him with lucidity illuminating a glimmer of hope in the troubled world. As the mystical chords return for the last time, the music resolves into a major chord and fades into oblivion, symbolising the old man’s transcendental tranquillity and experiencing spiritual transfiguration, and leaving the world in peace.

This piece depicts the unlocking of one’s heart through communication. It starts in C minor, written in an abridged sonata form. Two distinct antiphonal motives played by dizi and violin symbolise the intimate conversation between the mentally wounded and his companion. The intensifying harmonic tension, the widening range and the scalic melody of the two motives, together depict the mentally wounded bursts into tears. Afterwards, a milder melody in Db major, then followed by a brighter version of the motive.

The piece reaches its climax with unpredictable modulations signifying negativity. With the use of a fugal passage, the recapitulation returns with a large modification on the first motive. The descending scale is played by the dizi, leads to the return of the second motive in the parallel major key. With the music getting more tranquil, the coda restates the first motive in C major, signifying the final comfort of the mentally wounded. Glissando is used frequently to depict the wailing and crying in the conversation and ended with xiao.

This piece is written in ternary form illustrating a spotted dove dancing on the grassland and lying down to rest. Section A begins with a fast tempo in D Mixolydian. The main theme is first played by the clarinet, followed by piano, erhu, and xylophone. The low staccato notes on the piano portray an energetic dancing vibe of the spotted dove. The whole-tone descending modulation from C Mixolydian to Ab Mixolydian, accelerates the passage with repeats and reaches the climax in Db Mixolydian. Section B then reaches Db major. A short fugato passage illustrates the spotted dove lying down to take a break. The erhu plays the cadenza representing the flapping wings of the dove. Section A then recaps and ends in D Mixolydian, illustrating the spotted dove flies away.

NNYY is an imaginary musical dialogue between a student with Western music training (piano + strings) and a Chinese poet/mentor (xiao + alto saxophone), with the nature as the background (percussion).

Using the xiao and alto saxophone duo as an archetype, two related concepts are explored — after-tones and intercommunications, in which the after-tones can be an unfinished phrase. The piano resonance, complemented by saxophone multi-phonics, is a deep breath morphed into sizzle cymbals being softly rolled. The cues such as the exchange of glances and sync-up of gestures, play an integral part in enhancing communication among musicians. The two protagonists’ thought assimilates into each other’s familiar and unfamiliar territories.

The pitches and textures of the motive are based on a decachord derived from the xiao scale and a hexachord subset of alto saxophone multi-phonics.

In the climax, the hexachord is transformed into two stacked major sevenths, forming a rhythmic figure with the interweaving of the melodies and tremolos. The composition ends with a short looped section with unsynchronised pulses among the instruments, signifying the continuation of the dialogue where the thoughts of the two linger in multiple dimensions.

This piece creates various effects to evoke the feeling of the mystery and overall atmosphere of a cave. The piece consists of several motivic phrases, such as the ascending semiquavers and tremolos, the artificial harmonics with tremolos, and the descending block chords on the piano. The first section, having a thick texture with different extended techniques, represents the protagonist entering the cave. The second section is slower in tempo, with the piano tremolos and the accented glissando, creating a mystical and creepiness atmosphere. The third section returns to the original tempo, and slowly fades out when the protagonist exits the cave.

Please refer to Chinese version