This piece is the final work in my collection Sketches of Seasons and Scenes, a series built around the concept of “atmospheric music for pianists with smaller hands who cannot comfortably reach octave chords.”

Lujiazui, located in central Shanghai, China, is one of Asia’s most iconic futuristic cityscapes, home to towering structures such as the Shanghai Tower and numerous financial skyscrapers. Its neon-lit skyline is strikingly beautiful and frequently featured in images representing Shanghai, making it a view that many people will recognize even without having visited in person.

This piece is inspired by the silhouette of Lujiazui’s skyline. It incorporates a sense of speed, a sleek rhythmic character, and a shimmering, prism-like soundscape reminiscent of light reflecting off glass façades. Dissonance is used somewhat boldly to evoke the dense urban energy and the metallic textures of the city.

Although it avoids octave chords, the piece is technically demanding, featuring wide-ranging arpeggios, leaps between intervals, and frequent shifts in meter. It serves as a brilliant and tense finale to the collection.