When my daughter Claudia was born (2012), my wife and I naturally looked up what her Chinese zodiac sign was. We were delighted to discover Claudia was born as a "Water Dragon". Water is one of the five elements each of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals could be associated with (the other four being Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal). When the commission to write a zhongruan concerto for the Taipei Chinese Orchestra was proposed to me, I turned to the Water Dragon as the source of my inspiration, all while thinking of Claudia. For me, this concerto is my own musical portrait of the legend of the Water Dragon with the zhongruan soloist cast as the central character.
