Shu Shon Key (Remembrance) was inspired by a Taiwanese Folk melody that conveys a feeling of homesickness. I wrote this work for Hsin-Yun Huang who shares a similar background to my own: both of us were born in Taiwan, yet we have lived the majority of our lives in the West. Given our shared heritage and experience, it seemed fitting to use this melody as source material for this work.

At the beginning of the piece, the original melody with its sad and bittersweet emotion is presented in a simplified manner. Gradually this melancholy emotion, carried by different fragments of the folk melody, is transformed into an uplifting, lighter, playful, and eventually intense, powerful music for the climax of the piece. After a dazzling cadenza-like passage that reveals Hsin-Yun's superb musicianship and technique, the melody returns in its original, elaborated form played by the entire ensemble in a multi-layered texture. This brings full closure and a resolution to end the piece.

Shu Shon Key was commissioned by a consortium of organizations including Da Camera of Houston, Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, Appalachian Summer Festival in North Carolina, and the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan. There are two versions of this concerto: a chamber orchestra version (CD released by Bridge Records) and a small chamber ensemble version (MP3 released by Da Camera of Houston).

近年來我的作品著重於東方音樂與西方訓練的融合, 希望其結果能傳達某種台灣人的特質。《思 想曲中提琴協奏曲》是為琴藝高超且富音樂感的中提琴家黃心芸所寫。由於黃心芸和我都出身於 台灣而現旅居於美國, 所以本曲以陳達先生的<思想曲>為主軸,表露對台灣的思鄉情懷。

曲子一開始呈現的是,簡單、苦樂參半的旋律;而這個憂鬱的情緒,逐漸轉化為輕快、俏皮、振 奮;而後更進入了華麗雄偉的高潮。緊接著是一段炫耀技巧多采的 cadenza;最後,<思想起>優 雅的旋律把樂曲帶進情韻深遠的結尾。

《思想曲中提琴協奏曲》有管弦樂及與室內樂兩種版本,由長榮交響樂團及美數個音樂團體 (Da Camera of Houston, Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, Appalachian Summer Festival in North Carolina) 於2006-7年聯合委託創作及演出。 室內樂版本的MP 3錄音由 Da Camera of Houston在網路發行,管 弦樂版本由Bridge Records 發行。