Poppies, tied deeply to sleep, peace, and death, has long been a symbol to fallen soldiers. My second string quartet, “poppies bursting into bloom in the wind and rain”, is a response to Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae’s war poem In Flanders Fields. May the world be at peace forever and may you and my heart be at peace forever. The work is dedicated to those spirits who have suffered from war.

First performance:
by the JACK Quartet, at Merkin Hall NYC on March 10 2021

Poppies bursting into bloom in the wind and rain (2020)

Soliloquy (Violin and Piano) Movement 2

Soliloquy (Violin and Piano) Movement 3

Harding Conducts The Planets

Mäkelä Conducts Mahler 3

Salonen & Kuusisto

Mahler Festival Broadcast: Mahler 6

Carmina burana

Ravinia Opening Night 2025

Opera Without Words

Poppies bursting into bloom in the wind and rain (2020)

Hongwei Cai