20204:02

Takashi IV

Cello and Piano

Solo & Duo

In this piece for cello and piano, the two instruments clash and provoke—pushing against each other with rhythmic tension and harmonic friction. Their dialogue is combative, volatile, yet bound by an urgent momentum. Boundaries blur as each tries to dominate, forging a soundscape charged with defiance, resistance, and raw energy.

Premiered: The Juilliard School, New York, USA - February 25, 2020

Performed by: MIZU (fka Issei Herr), Han Chen

Dedicated: To MIZU (fka Issei Herr)

20194:00

Takashi III

Trumpet and Piano

Solo & Duo

This piece for trumpet and piano unfolds in bursts of color and motion, where the trumpet’s brilliant flourishes weave through the piano’s leaping, prismatic chords. Together, they create a kaleidoscopic tapestry of harmony—shifting, shimmering, and constantly in flux—each gesture refracting light through sound in playful, virtuosic interplay.

Premiered: Elebash Hall, Graduate Center, New York, USA - November 25, 2019

Performed by: Sam Jones, Han Chen

Dedicated: To Sam Jones

20169:00

Piano Trio

Violin, Cello, and Piano

Chamber

This piano trio explores both harmonic color and string harmonics, blurring the line between resonance and silence. The strings shimmer with overtones while the piano anchors shifting tonal planes. As harmonies unfold and dissolve, the piece invites close listening—where subtle textures reveal a world of spectral interplay and quiet tension.

20143:00

Hesitation

Harp

Solo & Duo

The harp, often misunderstood by composers, is easily conflated with keyboard instruments—yet its pedaling and fingering are uniquely intricate. This piece centers on non-chord tones that resist resolution, creating tension. In time, each dissonance finds its place within the harmony, emerging reconciled after quiet struggle.

Premiered: The Juilliard School, New York, USA - May 4, 2014

Performed by: Emily Hoile

Dedicated: To Emily Hoile

20148:00

Reading Ching Hsianghai

Tenor and Piano

Vocal

This song cycle sets the delicate, introspective poems of Ching Hsianghai, whose words evoke fleeting moments and quiet revelations. Each song captures a fragment of longing or memory, suspended in sound. The music mirrors the poetry’s restraint—lyrical yet spare, intimate yet expansive—inviting listeners into a world of stillness and light.

Premiered: The Elebash Hall, Graduate Center, New York, USA - November 25, 2019

Performed by: Xiaoming Tian, Han Chen

20132:32

Impromptu

Piano

Solo & Duo

These three piano pieces emerged from improvisation, later shaped by structural refinement. Conceived in Shanghai, New York, and Aspen—each tied to a pivotal chapter in my musical journey—they invite Romantic expression and poetic nuance. Dedicated with gratitude to Veda Kaplinsky on her 66th birthday.

Premiered: The Juilliard School, New York, USA - April 25, 2013

Performed by: Jingyi Zhang

Dedicated: To Veda Kaplinsky

201313:12

Sonata for Violin and Piano "The Seasons"

Violin and Piano

Solo & Duo

Titled Four Seasons but cast in three movements, this violin sonata embraces contradiction. The second movement echoes Chopin’s Funeral March, casting a shadow over fleeting beauty. Each gesture fades as it arrives, evoking the ephemeral—seasons collapsing into one another, time bending, and memory dissolving before it can take hold.

Premiered: Taichung National Teater - Playhouse, Taichung, Taiwan - August 23, 2017

Performed by: Nancy Zhou, Han Chen

20131:43

Spring Breeze

Piano

Solo & Duo

This piano transcription of the Taiwanese folksong Spring Breeze reimagines its lyrical melody with delicate textures and expressive harmonies. Blending nostalgia with refinement, the arrangement honors the song’s cultural roots while offering a poetic, pianistic voice.

20124:19

Adagio

Violin and Piano

Solo & Duo

Rooted in the Romantic tradition, this piece unfolds as an intimate dialogue between violin and piano. Lyrical lines, expressive rubato, and harmonic warmth evoke longing and tenderness. Though nostalgic in spirit, the music speaks in a personal voice—quietly reaching for connection beyond words.

20123:18

Almost Dawn

Bassoon

Solo & Duo

In summer 2012, Juilliard students launched a student-driven journal featuring newly commissioned works. I was honored to contribute to the inaugural issue with a bassoon solo written for Brad Balliett—part of a section dedicated to showcasing original compositions by student composers in dialogue with their performer colleagues.

Premiered: Altered Stages 2, New York, USA - September 15, 2012

Performed by: Brad Balliett

Dedicated: To Brad Balliett

20125:04

Snow Falling Upside Down

Piano

Solo & Duo

Snow Falling Upside Down was inspired by Terence Koh’s image of inverted snow and his all-white, avant-garde aesthetic. His purity and restraint led me to a sound world where major and minor coexist—simple yet complex. That harmony became the “white” at the heart of the piece.

Premiered: Aspen Chapel, Aspen, USA - July 20, 2012

Performed by: Han Chen

Dedicated: To Terence Koh