Trying to find unaccompanied cello music by  Asian composers? Look no further.

This month, I’m sending you the fifth installment in my new series of postcards on unaccompanied works for cello by Asian composers. You can find my previous postcards in the series here.

I created my online “just-the-facts-ma’am”-style digital postcards to introduce listeners to new-to-you cello music and to help cellists, orchestra directors, cello teachers, and students seeking new repertoire, contest pieces, and supplemental literature.

These monthly postcards give you the information you need to help you choose a piece that’s right for you. I also include links to make it easy for you to locate and purchase the sheet music you want. I hope you enjoy exploring these pieces as much as I did selecting them.

You can also read a quick round-up of my postcards featuring works by Black composers, my series featuring women composers, the series I just completed on Hispanic and Latino/Latina composers, or revisit all of my postcards.

Postcard #1: Railway for Meditation – Toccata, Op. 187 by Kohei Kondo

As we noted in March 2024, Japanese composer Kohei Kondo has written for many instruments, including piano, guitar, vibraphone, and voice. Many of his compositions have a contemplative feel, often inspired by some aspect of nature, from its awesome beauty to its incredible power.

• Title: Railway for Meditation – Toccata for Unaccompanied Cello, Op. 187
• Composer: Kohei Kondo
• Year Composed: 2019
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 1
• Duration: 4:00
• Number of Pages: 3
• Number of Measures: 70
• Tempo: quarter = 120
• Difficulty Level: intermediate
• Highest Position Reached: 7th position
• Technique Employed: bass clef; 2/4 and 2/2 time signatures; triplets, accidentals; double, triple, and quadruple stops
• Publisher: the composer
• Where to Purchase: Sheet Music Direct
• Cost of Score*: $6.99 digital download

Recording

Program Notes

The work was composed for Japanese cellist Tatsuki Hojo and was premiered in 2019, in Tokyo, Japan.

Cellist’s Guide

The rhythm in this piece is straightforward. There is one bar of rest in 2/4 time, while everything else is in 2/2 time. For those not familiar with the 2/2 time signature, it is essentially 4/4 felt in 2 beats per bar.

The technical challenges in this piece include: rocking the bow between the lower and upper strings and frequent double stops, namely 5ths. Two of those 5ths are quite challenging, so I have taken the liberty in the recording to take them down an octave. Yes, as a professional player I can play them at pitch (with some difficulty getting them in tune), but I do not wish for the intermediate player to give up on the whole piece because of two chords. My apologies to the composer for the slight alterations, but sometimes we need to do this.

Postcard #2: Feng by Lei Liang

Liang’s first appearance in these postcards was in May 2024; this month’s selection highlights some of the intersectionality he brings to his compositions. Professionally, as with this piece, Liang leans toward opportunities for bringing cultures together—at UC San Diego, he leads an annual collaborative program on Chinese art and music between the 21st Century China Center and the Music Department.

• Title: Feng
• Composer: Lei Liang
• Year Composed: 1998
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 1
• Duration: 4:30
• Number of Pages: 2
• Number of Measures: unmeasured
• Tempo: quarter = 50, 60, 76
• Difficulty Level: advanced
• Highest Position Reached: high thumb position
• Technique Employed: bass, tenor, and treble clefs; grace notes, glissandos, left-hand pizzicato, double stops
• Publisher: Schott
• Where to Purchase: European American Music Distributors Company
• Cost of Score*: $7 digital download, $10.95 print edition

Recording

Program Notes

“The syllable “Feng” in Chinese has multiple meanings, including wind, encounter, and maple; it is also the name of the cellist Feng Hew for whom this piece was written. It is transcribed for solo violin and solo viola. In this piece, I arranged some fragments of melodies I heard while visiting Inner Mongolia in the summer of 1996. I deeply admire the Mongolians for the extraordinary beauty of their melodies, and I wish to become part of that stream of musicians who contribute to these melodies, and in doing so, transporting the melodies from horsebacks to concert halls. And I wish these pieces would transport the listeners to that beautiful land.”  – Lei Liang

Cellist’s Guide

Frankly, most of this piece is within the technical grasp of an intermediate player. I have rated this as an advanced-level work because it ends in the stratosphere. If you are an intermediate – late intermediate player, enjoy playing Feng up until the last two lines, as there is a plausible ending immediately beforehand.

As this is a rhapsodic composition, there are some potentially tricky rhythms, but an advanced or professional cellist can help you sort them out.

Postcard #3: In a Glass Jar by Yi-Ning Lo

Composer, pianist, electronic musician and educator Yi-Ning Lo is a native of Taiwan who is currently based in Rochester, New York, while pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition at the Eastman School of Music. Her website notes that, “in her compositional journey, Lo takes particular joy in exploring themes related to womanhood, dreams, and memory, infusing her compositions with a profound sense of emotion and storytelling.”

• Title: In a Glass Jar
• Composer: Yi-Ning Lo
• Year Composed: 2022
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 1
• Duration: 4:00
• Number of Pages: 6
• Number of Measures: 89
• Tempo: quarter = 60
• Difficulty Level: early advanced
• Highest Position Reached: highest note possible
• Technique Employed: bass, tenor, and treble clefs; 3/4 time signature; harmonics and false harmonics; trills, glissandos, tremolo, and sul ponticello; quintuplets, and sextuplets
• Publisher: Theodore Front
• Where to Purchase: Theodore Front Musical Literature
• Cost of Score*: $12 digital download

Recording

Program Notes

“In a Glass Jar portrays the confinement of an insect that powerlessly grapples with exhaustion and suffocation in the final moments of its life.  The insect remains in a manic state while repeatedly slamming against the top, the bottom, and the transparent glass wall, which presents an overlapping image of its own reflection and the free but distorted exterior. The deranged wing-flapping, along with the distressed buzzing, demands immediate attention on its torment, which triggers an absent response from the surroundings of the jar.” – Yi-Ning Lo

Cellist’s Guide

Fear not, In a Glass Jar is not as difficult as it sounds.  The most challenging passages are the 32nd notes in low positions on the C string, and they are mostly for effect.  Yes, there are high notes, but they are all harmonics and therefore easier to land.

If you do not already have an understanding of string division (particularly on the low strings), you will after practicing this piece! Additionally, false harmonics and rapid trills add to the bag of tricks that early advanced players are learning, or working to perfect.

The “special effects” in this piece hold the interest of both the cellist and listener, so I think this would be a good addition to the professional player’s repertoire list.

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*Prices given are accurate on the date of publication of this article. Please check the links for the current price. The Cello Museum does not control these prices and cannot take responsibility for price changes.