The Way (1999)

Program Notes

 This was the first composition I completed in New York City after I arrived in this country from Taiwan.  It was premiered in Paul Recital Hall of The Juilliard School on April 5th, 1999.

It is not easy to live in a new environment with unfamiliar culture and language. It is also because of this challenge, one is forced, willingly or not, to contemplate deeper into the meanings of life. And this is the inspiration behind this composition.

The first movement of this piece is developed by a four-note motive introduced by the violist in the very beginning. It is a dramatic and exciting movement. In contrast, the texture of the second movement is much thinner. Every instrument alternates the solo line, which portrays its fateful loneliness, and the struggle of the soul in searching for the "right" path. In the third movement, both winds and strings stay in the dark atmosphere like the previous movement, except for the piano that brings in the first light of the dawn. The piece ends with a major chord to symbolize the hope and the abundance of the future.