MODERN LOVE
A String Quartet + Piano Album by Jo-Yu Chen
Sony Music · December 2026
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Album Introduction
Modern Love brings Jo-Yu Chen’s writing and improvisation into close conversation through the distinct voices of string quartet and piano. It reflects years of classical training and immersion in jazz—experiences that have become inseparable in the way she hears and creates.
Chen did not conceive the project as a traditional piano quintet. She imagined the quartet and piano as distinct voices, each with its own presence and freedom. The string parts are fully composed, with intricate counterpoint, while her piano part remains unwritten. In the studio, she improvises within the structure she has created, finding possibilities that cannot be fully planned on the page.
Across the album, string quartet writing, tango, rock energy, and improvisation coexist without any one language defining the whole. These are sounds Chen has absorbed over a lifetime, and she allows them to emerge as naturally as they do in her musical imagination.
For Chen, Modern Love is a work of contemporary music and her most personal musical statement to date. Its identity lies in the way she writes, plays, and listens—and in the musicians who bring their own voices to what she has written. The score gives the music its shape; the recording captures what happens when that shape meets the freedom of performance.
The album also holds a deeply personal significance for Chen through its connection to Taiwan. Bringing together outstanding classical musicians with strong ties to Taiwan, including violinist Kevin Lin, Concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the project reflects a shared musical heritage that transcends geographical boundaries. Though their careers have taken them in different directions, their individual interpretations of Chen’s compositions create a meaningful musical dialogue, deepening her connection to her own roots.
專輯介紹中文版
《Modern Love》是一場弦樂四重奏與鋼琴之間的對話，也讓陳若玗的作曲與即興有了更緊密的連結。多年古典訓練與爵士經驗，早已融入她聆聽與創作的方式，成為彼此不可分割的養分。
她寫這張專輯時，想的並非傳統的鋼琴五重奏，而是讓四重奏與鋼琴各自保有聲音與空間。弦樂聲部經過完整書寫，包含細緻交織的對位線條；自己的鋼琴聲部則沒有寫成固定的譜。進入錄音室後，她在自己寫好的結構中即興，尋找那些無法事先在譜上安排的可能。
弦樂四重奏寫作、探戈、搖滾的能量與即興，在這張專輯裡自然共存，沒有任何一種音樂語言能單獨定義整張作品。這些都是她一路吸收、深刻存在於自己身上的聲音；創作時，她讓它們隨著音樂的想像自然流露。
對陳若玗而言，《Modern Love》是一張當代音樂作品，也是她至今最貼近自己的音樂表達。作品的個性來自她如何寫作、演奏與聆聽，也來自參與錄音的音樂家如何以各自的聲音詮釋她的創作。樂譜建立了音樂的輪廓，而錄音留下的，是這些輪廓遇上演奏當下的自由之後，所發生的一切。
《Modern Love》對陳若玗而言，還有一層與台灣有關的深刻意義。這張專輯集結了多位與台灣有深厚連結的優秀古典音樂家，包括印第安納波利斯交響樂團首席小提琴家林冠羽（Kevin Lin），以及活躍於國際舞台的新生代演奏家們。儘管他們各自走向不同的音樂道路，台灣始終是彼此共同的連結。透過自己的作品，陳若玗讓這些獨特的音樂聲音相遇；聽見他們以各自的個性與詮釋賦予作品新的生命，也讓她與自己的文化根源有了更深的連結。
Musicians / Lineup
Jo-Yu Chen — Piano / Composer
Kevin Lin — Violin I
Concertmaster, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; former Co-Leader, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Hsuan-Hao Hsu — Violin II
Grace Huang — Viola
Simon Thompson — Cello
Track Features
Prelude to Aurora
Featuring Mon-Puo Lee, cello
Aurora
Violin and piano duet with Kevin Lin
Walking Through Fear
String quartet and piano trio featuring:
Richard Lin — Violin
Hsuan-Hao Hsu — Violin
Grace Huang — Viola
Tsao-Lun Lu — Cello
Jo-Yu Chen — Piano
Christopher Tordini — Bass
Tommy Crane — Drums
Tracklist
Madly, Deeply (Midnight Tango of New York) — 7:03
Modern Love (Dedicated to Prokofiev) — 8:07
Prelude to Aurora (Iberian Sketch) — 6:17
Aurora — 6:12
Foliage at Night (Kodaiji, Kyoto — String Quartet Version) — 6:02
Walking Through Fear (String Quartet + Piano Trio Version — for Frank Gehry) — 8:49
Composed & Arranged by Jo-Yu Chen
Released by Sony Music