Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Love in a fallen city (傾城之戀) is a personal reflection on the strong and conflicted feelings towards one’s birthplace, inspired by Hong Kong Essayist Xiao Si’s collection of essays Hong Kong Stories. Mainly known as the title of a novella by Hong Kong Author Eileen Chang, ‘love in a fallen city’ is also used by Xiao Si to describe the uncertain yet entangled relationship between Hong Kong and its people.
In the first movement titled ‘In the haze’, the music is unsettled, constantly searching, and reminiscing on the past, as a live drawing artist illustrates a bird carrying a city on its wings. A bird song opens the second movement 'Collage' and a passage in which musicians improvise to a collage of childhood memories presented in a sequence of abstract textures follows. A folk dance emerges from the memories and the third movement ‘Grace and glory’ tells us a story of a street that has lost its former glory due to urban development. A sudden unleash of a harsh and distorted sound in which the viola improvises to drawing strokes tells us a story about a brass lion statue covered with cracks and scars. The final movement ‘Rhythm of life’, in which 3 visions of a bird turning into the ocean, the mountains and the fire is presented, is an answer to the constant searching: the acceptance of the ever-changing nature of life.
Note by Sze Ying Chan
I In the haze 朦朧
II Collage 剪影
III Grace and Glory 行街
IV Scars and Cracks 銅獅
V Rhythm of Life 大流
Henrietta Cooke oboe/cor anglais
Michelle Hromin clarinet
Lois Au bassoon
Chihiro Ono viola
Colin Alexander cello
Sandy Leong live drawing and animation
Darren Bloom conductor
Filmed at the Soundhub Showcase on Friday 16 May 2025 at The Nave, St John’s Waterloo.
#londonsymphonyorchestra #contemporarymusic #composer
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Love in a fallen city (傾城之戀) is a personal reflection on the strong and conflicted feelings towards one’s birthplace, inspired by Hong Kong Essayist Xiao Si’s collection of essays Hong Kong Stories. Mainly known as the title of a novella by Hong Kong Author Eileen Chang, ‘love in a fallen city’ is also used by Xiao Si to describe the uncertain yet entangled relationship between Hong Kong and its people.
In the first movement titled ‘In the haze’, the music is unsettled, constantly searching, and reminiscing on the past, as a live drawing artist illustrates a bird carrying a city on its wings. A bird song opens the second movement 'Collage' and a passage in which musicians improvise to a collage of childhood memories presented in a sequence of abstract textures follows. A folk dance emerges from the memories and the third movement ‘Grace and glory’ tells us a story of a street that has lost its former glory due to urban development. A sudden unleash of a harsh and distorted sound in which the viola improvises to drawing strokes tells us a story about a brass lion statue covered with cracks and scars. The final movement ‘Rhythm of life’, in which 3 visions of a bird turning into the ocean, the mountains and the fire is presented, is an answer to the constant searching: the acceptance of the ever-changing nature of life.
Note by Sze Ying Chan
I In the haze 朦朧
II Collage 剪影
III Grace and Glory 行街
IV Scars and Cracks 銅獅
V Rhythm of Life 大流
Henrietta Cooke oboe/cor anglais
Michelle Hromin clarinet
Lois Au bassoon
Chihiro Ono viola
Colin Alexander cello
Sandy Leong live drawing and animation
Darren Bloom conductor
Filmed at the Soundhub Showcase on Friday 16 May 2025 at The Nave, St John’s Waterloo.
#londonsymphonyorchestra #contemporarymusic #composer
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the LSO's channel: bit.ly/LSOsubscribe
Subscribe to LSO newsletter: https://smarturl.it/lsonewsletter
Follow the LSO on:
Instagram: instagram.com/londonsymphonyorchestra
Facebook: facebook.com/londonsymphonyorchestra
TikTok: tiktok.com/@londonsymphonyorchestra
Twitter: twitter.com/londonsymphony
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/london-symphony-orchestra
Website: lso.co.uk
Apple Music: geni.us/yH0sXY
Spotify: spoti.fi/291cCk0
LSO Live: lsolive.lso.co.uk
