Tea for Two Cellos Pi-Chin Chien & Fabian Müller

• Fabian Müller (b. 1964):
• 1 Rougui Hongcha 04:09
• 2 Zheng Dongding Oolong 03:30
• 3 Lao Man E Gushu 05:26
• 4 Oriental Beauty 05:23
• 5 Bi Luo Chun 04:52
• 6 Buddhas Hand Alishan 06:05
• 7 Mao Er Duo Gushu Pu Er 05:06
• 8 Zhengcong Muzha Tie Guanyin 07:31
• 9 Mengku Yesheng Hong Cha 04:05
• 10 Bai Mao Hou 05:25
• Total Runtime 51:32

Info for Tea for Two Cellos

What a beautiful task to translate the scent and character of tea into music - into sound, rhythm and harmony but what a great challenge! Because the big question is, how does tea sound? Well-known in the West is the so-called coffee house music, a music in the background to all the clatter of dishes and the conversations of the visitors, which has the purpose to beautify the stay in the cafe but also to avoid a possible silence. Quite different is the tea music on this album! It is music to listen, that tries to transcend the fragrance and character of the tea into sound. When composing this music, I let myself be inspired from the feeling that the enjoyment of the tea triggers in me, but also from the poetic words with which Menglin Chou describes the different teas. Menglin Chou, a sociologist and tea master, came to Switzerland many years ago. She had the idea that I could try to set in music the character of some especially valuable teas. The project took shape, and I began to translate into music the mood that these selected teas arouse in me, as well as the inspiration from the texts in which Menglin uses to describe the character of teas poetically. Stylistically, the resulting sounds are difficult to classify, yet they are very familiar to people from Asia and the West, as if they wanted to build a bridge between cultures. The result was a combination of musical cultures, in the service of capturing the special character of these wonderful teas and making them sound. And so we hope that the enjoyment of a cup of tea by listening to this music will be an additional enrichment."" (Fabian Müller)

Pi-Chin Chien, cello
Fabian Müller, cello

Pi-Chin Chien
is a sought-after, internationally active soloist and chamber musician. She has performed in major concert venues around the world, including New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Berlin Philharmonic and Konzerthaus as well as Tonhalle Zurich. She appears as a soloist on recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra London and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra under the direction of David Zinman, Ruben Gazarian and Wen-Pin Chien. In 2015 Pi-Chin Chien enjoyed great success with her album “Taiwan Rhapsody”, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London and released by Sony Classical. ​

Pi-Chin Chien has performed and recorded world premieres of a number of violoncello concertos and chamber music works, including several compositions dedicated to her. ​

She performed at the Kaiser-Otto Medal award ceremony in honour of the late former German President Richard von Weizsäcker, and in 2016, already for the second time, at the renowned concert series at Taiwan’s Presidential Palace on invitation of the President of Taiwan. Pi-Chin Chien is the artistic director of the “Swiss Music Night” concert series in Taiwan and of the “Confluence” Music Festival in Zurich. ​

A native of Taiwan, Pi-Chin Chien studied with Markus Stocker, Claude Starck, Marek Jerie and Stanislaw Apolin in Zurich, Lucerne and Prague, graduating with a soloist’s diploma with distinction. She received further artistic impulses in masterclasses with Pierre Fournier, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniil Shafran and Arto Noras. Pi-Chin Chien has won numerous awards at national and international music competitions.

This album contains no booklet.