If you meet I-Lin Tsai for the first time, you’ll probably notice two things right away: her calm presence and her clarity when she speaks about music. There’s an architectural precision in her language — she describes sound as if it were light, space, or texture.
We met in San Jose on a sunny afternoon, where she teaches, performs, and somehow manages to build what she calls “a life made of bridges.” Her newest album, Building Bridges, is exactly that — a musical journey that traces her life from Taiwan to America, one piano piece at a time.
The album features sixteen solo works, each inspired by a specific landmark, from the Palace Museum in Taipei to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It’s a personal and cultural portrait, told entirely through sound.
Q: “Building Bridges” feels like more than just a piano album — it feels autobiographical. Where did the concept start?
A: “You’re right — it’s completely personal. I think the concept started long before I actually wrote the music. I came to the U.S. in 2012 for school, and over time I realized that I was building two parallel versions of myself — one rooted in Taiwan, the other shaped by America. Building Bridges is me finally connecting those two worlds through music.
Every piece started from a real place — somewhere that changed me. Like the Palace Museum in Taipei or the White House in D.C. But it’s not just about the geography — it’s about what those places represent emotionally. Taiwan gave me discipline and grounding. America gave me space and courage. Together, they made me who I am.”
Q: The album moves from Taiwan to the U.S., but each piece feels like it belongs to a single universe. How did you keep it cohesive?
A: “That was actually one of the hardest parts! I wanted each piece to sound unique — because Taroko Gorge is not the same as the Grand Canyon — but still have a connecting thread.
For me, that thread is texture. I used the piano almost like a painter uses light — sometimes bright and crystalline, sometimes soft and diffused. You can hear that in Sun Moon Lake, where I use pedal resonance to make the sound shimmer like water. And then in Golden Gate Bridge, the rhythm becomes more urban and jazzy, but the underlying sense of color and breath remains the same.
I wanted the whole album to feel like a journey taken on one instrument — one traveler moving through many worlds.”
Q: “The White House: We the People” stands out emotionally. It feels both intimate and monumental. What was your vision for that piece?
A: “That one changed me as I wrote it. At first, I imagined it like a national landmark — you know, formal, symmetrical, maybe even ceremonial. But when I started composing, it became something else — it felt human.
To me, the White House isn’t just a symbol of power — it’s a house of stories. It’s a place where people have carried their hopes, tears, mistakes, and resilience. So the piece became warm, almost like a home — not perfect, but full of history and emotion. I wanted listeners to feel that — not patriotism, but empathy. The sound of people’s hearts living under one roof.”
Q: You’ve mentioned before that you see music almost like design — that you “design sound.” How does that apply here?
A: “Yes — that’s something I really believe in. Design and composition are very similar processes. You start with structure, then add color, depth, and contrast.
When I’m writing or performing, I think about the listener’s spatial experience — how sound moves through a room, how resonance fills the silence. That’s why I love working with Steinway pianos — they let me shape the overtones almost like light gradients.
In Building Bridges, I tried to design a world that you can walk through with your ears. Every texture is intentional — even silence is part of the design.”
Q: After spending more than a decade in the U.S., do you feel like you’ve built your bridge?
A: “I think it’s still being built — and maybe that’s the point. Bridges aren’t static. They need maintenance, love, and people to cross them.
This album isn’t an arrival. It’s gratitude — for the places that shaped me, for the people who believed in me, and for the piano that became my translator between two worlds. I’m still crossing that bridge every day.”
To learn more about I-Lin Tsai and her new album Building Bridges, visit www.ilintsai.com or follow YouTube (@i-lintsai).
Stream Building Bridges on Spotify or listen on Apple Music.
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