Three Chinese Songs
(2025) | 10 minutes
SCORING soprano saxophone & piano
Also available: for voice & piano
PREMIERE 8 October 2025 at Cook Recital Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, by Alex Lee, soprano saxophone, and Jingwei Yuan, piano.
Listen
I. Wind (0:00) II. Yellow Bird (2:00) III. Transience (3:31)
Alex Lee, soprano saxophone
Jingwei Yuan, piano
Programme Note
Three Chinese Songs touch on the ephemeral – of wind, a wisp of cloud and the color of a bird. Wind is a wordless vocalise rising and falling, accompanied by relentless, bell-like piano chords. Yellow Bird is lively, a fleeting flash of color, while Transience begins with a sorrowful solo before flowing runs in the second part evoke a recollection of past happiness.
This new version for soprano saxophone was arranged by the composer from Three Chinese Songs for voice and piano, originally commissioned by the Curtis Institute of Music
Reviews
“The highlight of this concert was ‘Three Songs‘ by Zhou Tian…This set, sung in Chinese and accompanied by the composer, was the most relaxed and confident on the program, presented without being over-sung, with text and music most commensurate.”
—Sequenza21
Works for Saxophone
- Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble
- Viaje (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone & piano)
- Three Chinese Songs (soprano saxophone & piano)
- Nocturne (saxophone quartet)