On Self-Reliance and the Power of Reading

In this episode, Han Chen talks with Chinese-American composer Lei Liang about his immigrant story and how he looks up to the artistic giants who have inspired his composition.

Liang received his Ph.D. from the Harvard University and is now a Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of California, San Diego. He creates the most poetic and profoundly moving music, tackling issues such as sex-trafficking across the US-Mexican border, America's complex relationship with gun and violence, and environmental awareness through the sonification of coral reefs. Deeply rooted in the Chinese tradition, Liang recreates what the tradition means to him and his music.

In the piano piece, “The moon is following us” (2015), he disintegrates and reconstructs a folksong he knew from his youth, through the means of technology from the Qualcomm Institute. The title came from a casual remark made by his 5-year-old son, Albert, who has been a great inspiration for Liang's composition. Performance recorded on March 3, 2021, in New York.