Two Pieces is a two-movement piano suite composed separately in 2016 and 2020. Both movements were influenced by Asian culture and Chinese folk songs.

The first movement, Quarantine Rhapsody, was composed in 2020 during the lockdown. It premiered at the New England Conservatory Online Commencement Concert. At that time, my pianist was in quarantine and unable to find an acoustic piano. Eventually, he recorded the performance on his electric piano. The second movement was arranged from my undergraduate pentatonic harmony class assignment. I titled it Cursive Script for its dynamic and unpredictable motion. This perpetuum mobile premiered as part of Victor Rosenbaum's Prelude Premiere Project in 2019. Because both movements are short and share a similar energy, I combined them into one piece titled Two Pieces.

This suite is dedicated to my friend Zhaoyuan Qin, the pianist who has performed my music for a long time.

(Wenbin Lyu, July 8, 2022)

November 15, 2023; CCM; Cincinnati, OH; Hefang Ma

June 22, 2023; New Music Gathering; Portland State University; Portland, OR; Zhaoyuan Qin

February 25, 2023; Berkeley Piano Club; Berkeley, CA; Dale Tsang

April 8, 2022 (premiere); Asian Classical Music Initiative Conference; University of Kansas; Lawrence, KS; Zhaoyuan Qin

June 9, 2020; Compositions From Quarantine; New England Conservatory of Music; Boston, MA; Zhaoyuan Qin

May 17, 2020; NEC Commencement Concerts; New England Conservatory of Music; Boston, MA; Zhaoyuan Qin

April 25, 2019; Prelude Premiere Project; New England Conservatory of Music; Boston, MA; Zhaoyi Long