Shirley Ly is a rising star in classical music. She is a London-born composer who composes contemporary classical music, and has produced three albums featuring 30+ pieces for solo piano / violin / cello, duets, trios and quartets: Paradise (2023), Blossom (2021), and Impetus (2018). Pieces in those albums have been played more than a million times across more than 100 countries around the world including on the BBC radio, and she has been commended for her ability to seamlessly connect with listeners especially during performances, where she eloquently describes her inspiration and story behind each composition.
We set out below our top 8 favourite compositions by Shirley Ly – if you are just getting to know her music, please check out these pieces first and let us know what you think!
1. Swallows Silhouette
Swallows swoop in the sunset. Their strong, deep wingbeats are seen at a distance. A storm amounts. Clouds are thick and swallows lose their sense of direction in the darkening skies. Raindrops batter their wings. The clouds disperse and the swallows emerge slowly and cautiously to find their way back to their warm clay nests.
In Swallows Silhouette, Shirley manages to capture emotive and eventful journeys of swallows flying through the skies to find their nests. The composition for violin and piano varies in richness, intensity and we absolutely adore hearing heartfelt melodic lines and harmonies. It is clear from her composition when the stormy weather arrives, and the pauses in the piece create suspense. We feel gripped – we hope that the swallows arrive safely in their nests following the storm! What a beautiful composition!
2. Dawn in Berlin
The feeling of walking through the beautiful city of Berlin at dawn. Berlin is a great city and carries a lot of emotional weight – it never sleeps, it is artsy, alternative, and culturally diverse.
Dawn of Berlin is Shirley’s most played composition, perhaps because it was the first composition she released! She combines classical and minimalism in this piece effortlessly, and we absolutely adore the soulful and heart-wrenching sounds of the violin with the flowing broken chords on the piano. The composition really makes us visualise that we are deep in the city of Berlin at dawn, and of course we understand that the city carries a lot of emotional weight, especially considering its dark history.
3. Corals’ Soul
Mesmerised by the exquisite colours, movements and patterns of coral, and their importance in supporting marine life.
Corals’ Soul is a cello and piano duet piece, released as part of Shirley Ly’s new album, Paradise (2023), which is an album inspired by the beauty and wonders of the ocean, its ecosystems and marine life. The cello’s melodic lines carry a lot of emotional depth, well-accompanied by the flowing broken chords on the piano. We can feel how much she admires the corals in the ocean (we understand that she is a keen diver), how she is enchanted by their vivid colours, unique movements, and patterns. We cannot wait to see her perform this piece in her November concert in London.
4. Sweet Reverie
The feeling of loss and recovery during a relationship breakdown – everything seemed like a sweet dream…
Shirley composed Sweet Reverie during the experience of getting her heart broken. Oh, how one can feel the emotional pain that she went through! We absolutely love the interchanges the minor and major keys to convey sadness and positivity, and the sublime passage at the end is just dreamy!
5. Spring Fantasy
Melting snow dampens the earth beneath, sunlight becomes clearer, and clouds become lighter against the bluing sky. Anticipating renewal and revitalisation of life in all forms.
Spring Fantasy captures Shirley’s love for Spring. She enjoys seeing delicate cherry and plum blossoms line London’s streets and hear birds singing in the distance. The composition features more Eastern melodic lines, where they are also quite melancholic. The harmonies are romantic. We absolutely love the beautiful interplay between the violin, cello and piano in this piece.
6. Vagabond’s Tale
Constantly wandering, never settling, finding self-happiness. Inspired by traipsing through forests and countrysides.
We always feel adventurous after hearing Shirley’s piece, Vagabond’s Tale, which features the violin, cello and piano. This piece was composed during the lockdown period, when many of us had more time to explore the outdoors! We can really feel the freeing feeling of wondering in the beautiful English countrysides when listening to this piece!
7. Amsterdam
From morning to night, the canals of Amsterdam glisten magically against the backdrop of beautifully uniform, looming and narrow buildings. The heart dances with inspiration.
The piano version of Amsterdam is so sweet and delightful! We instantly get transported to the magical city of Amsterdam. Of course, Shirley does romanticise Amsterdam quite a lot – we still love it!
8. Falling Leaves
Wherever we go, falling leaves always return to their roots – a saying that will always resonate with me. No matter what happens, family will always be there to provide unconditional love.
We can really feel Shirley’s adoration for her family through her composition, Falling Leaves. We are moved by the meaning of the phrase ‘falling leaves always return to their roots,’ and we can really feel the notion of returning through the piece’s melodic lines and harmonies. We particularly enjoyed listening to this piece perform live in front of her family – it got very emotional!
If you enjoyed our recommendations and want to hear more, please follow the below links to listen to more of Shirley Ly’s music:
