Join us in welcoming Lyndon Ji to the Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation for a solo piano recital.

How Abstract Is It?

The answer in this program is mostly “not very.” Only the préludes by Boulanger and Dutilleux remain somewhat obscure in their references, though the latter at least hints at the symmetrical connections throughout.

The first three works explicitly refer to art, whether it be a specific work such as Velázquez’s St. Thomas, Goya’s dramatic etchings in Los Caprichos, or the notion of a “tableau” as in Rachmaninoff’s aptly nicknamed “The Snowstorm”. Messiaen displays his spirituality in an altogether different manner from Velázquez through his own use of symmetry in these evocatively titled pieces.

The French connection takes us to the autodidactic and Messiaen-inspired Takemitsu. Through Litany, he offers a stark tribute to his friend Michael Vyner.

In the most overtly “Asian” work of the program, Zihan Wu draws upon the sound of the qeej, a 3000-year-old homophonic wind instrument played by the Hmong people in Southwest China.

Finally, Australian-Chinese composer Sam Wu’s “cities of ash and dust” reflects upon the current state of the world at war. The unifying theme between these works is art, memory, and influence. As Lilly Wei asks, “How can these works of art contribute to a better world? How civilizing are they? How humane? How truthful?”

Program:

Ben Webster New work (Untitled) (6-8 min)

Sergei Rachmaninoff Etude-Tableau in E-flat minor op. 33-6 (2 min)

Enrique Granados El Amor y la Muerte (13 min)

Lili Boulanger Prelude in D-flat major (3 min)

Henri Dutilleux Le Jeu des contraires (7 min)

Olivier Messiaen Ile de Feu 1, Preludes No. 5 & No. 8 (13 min)
No. 5: Les sons impalpables du rêve
No. 8: Un reflet dans le vent

Tōru Takemitsu Litany II (5 min)

Zihan Wu Rhapsody of Hmong (8 min)

Sam Wu cities of ash and dust (7 min)

Bio:

Lyndon Ji, Grand Prize winner of the Chicago International Music Competition, has performed across the USA, Asia, and Europe. His recent concert appearances include both traditional and contemporary music at Core Memory Music, the Orchestra of New England, the Gijón Piano Festival, American Matthay Association, American Liszt Society, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Norfolk New Music Workshop.

Lyndon currently serves as staff pianist at Rutgers University, Artistic Director of the Bay Area Piano Competition, and continues as a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Yale School of Music under Wei-Yi Yang. Previously, he completed his Artist Diploma (Indiana University) and Master of Music (University of Michigan) with Roberto Plano and Logan Skelton, respectively. Additionally at Yale, he pursued Mathematics (B.S.) and worked as a Swensen Fellow. Outside of music, Lyndon enjoys brewing coffee in all forms, cooking, video games, and the company of his wife and two cats.

Many artists migrate across geographies, and their practices ultimately negotiate a space between movement and settlement. This concert explores migration and absorption—being influenced and, in turn, inspiring.

The program opens with Interludium A by Isang Yun and Sequenzen by Unsuk Chin, two Korean composers who established their artistic lives in Germany, drawing connections to the Italian composer Luciano Berio’s Sequenza.

Selections from Miroirs by Maurice Ravel, alongside Elliot Teo’s new work Cross Exam, engage with the visual world and the act of seeing, drawing connections between sound and image.

Finally, Ahmed Alom’s Displaced Études and Zhou Long’s Dunhuang Fantasy offer deeply personal reflections, paying homage to Cuban rhythms and ancient Chinese frescoes, respectively, while transforming cultural memory through distance.

Program:

Isang Yun                  Interludium A (1982) 13 min  

Unsuk Chin              Sequenzen from Piano Etudes No.2 (1996, revised 2003) 3 min  

Luciano Berio          Sequenza IV (1965) 11 min
(Intermission)
Maurice Ravel          Selections from Miroirs (1904-05) 14 min

                                    III. Une barque sur l'océan

                                    IV. Alborada del gracioso

Ahmed Alom            Displaced Etudes No.1 (2024) 3 min

Zhou Long                Dunhuang Fantasy (2017) 13 min

Elliot Teo                   Cross Exam for solo piano (2026) 7 min