ALBUM:
Taking inspiration from key moments in her life – childhood, first love, bereavement and child birth Liew delves into her Classical piano roots and has written an evocative suite of filmic pieces with a dazzling blend of textures, melodies and atmospherics inspired by her British Chinese background. To celebrate and coincide with the album’s release, Liew performed an acoustic show Rich Mix (pics) joined live by Dennis Kwong Thye Lee on the ethereal guzheng (zither) and heavenly xiao (Chinese flute). The evening ended with a DJ set from Russ Jones aka Hackney Globe Trotter spinning tunes from China and beyond.
REVIEWS:
“Liz’s debut solo album, released in February, is a fine example of British classical piano laced tastefully with oriental flavours. The combination of strings and keys make for a wholly satisfying aural experience and this album demonstrates Liz’s undoubted prowess as a composer and a performer” – Musicians Union magazine Summer 2014
“The multi-talented musician and composer Liz Chi Yen Liew …has created a vulnerable and beautiful collection of music… conjuring its own subjective imagery” – Music-News 4/5 stars April 2014
LIVE DANCE SHOW:
The live music and dance version of SNAPSHOTS encapsulates universal moments in life told through contemporary dance influenced by Chinese Classical dance, an evocative live original soundtrack on piano, violin and Chinese instrumentation and video imagery. Here’s the show video teaser:
Snapshots is the first collaboration between British Chinese musician and composer LIZ LIEW and Taiwanese choreographer/dancer YUYU RAU who brings the stories of each snapshot to life, using a blend of contemporary dance influenced by Chinese Classical Dance. Fragments of each story gradually unravel through cinematic flashbacks as Rau portrays the stories, emotions and music through dance taking audiences on an evocative visual and aural journey, allowing them to reflect on their own experiences. The musical soundtrack is part filmic, with nods to Impressionist composers Debussy and Ravel, mixed with melodies inspired from Liew’s British Chinese background. Scored mostly for the piano with the addition of the violin and piano, Liew will be joined live by Dennis Lee on Chinese flute (xiao) and Chinese zither (guzheng).
Liew commented: ‘It’s my most personal piece to date and I’ve used as sources of inspiration my own personal memories of childhood, first love, the sudden passing of my father and the birth of my daughters – these become universal themes that we can all relate to’. Snapshots premiered at The Place London in January 2013 as part of the Resolution! Dance platform.
