CIM pianist Danny Su spreads international goodwill with online "Song Without Words" project

Social media gets a bad rap, but sometimes, real good comes from it, too. Case in point: CIM student Danny (Ziqi) Su. 

From a Facebook friend he’s never met, the second-year master’s student of pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi landed a gig that may shape the course of his career.  

At the invitation of the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan, Su joined five other pianists from around the world in recording an Uzbek piece called Song Without Words, all in the name of artistic exchange. Now he’s interested in continuing down that path, in finding ways to use music to promote international goodwill.  

Taking part in the Song Without Words project was “very meaningful to me,” Su said. “It made me reflect on what music actually is. It’s not just sounds. It’s a cultural language with dialogue. It’s about history and memory and ways of thinking.” 

The invitation was certainly unusual. In 2025, a colleague Su had not (and still hasn’t) met in person encouraged Su to submit a video recording of Song Without Words, a piano piece by Mukhtar Ashraify, a 20th-century Uzbek composer noted for blending Uzbek and Western traditions.   

Five other pianists did the same, and excerpts from their recordings were combined to form one complete performance. Along with the music, each pianist also recorded a brief, spoken message, often in their native language, sharing their feelings about the project. The final video was published earlier this month.  

“It’s my great pleasure and honor to engage with this project, combined with pianists from all around the world,” said Su, a native of Guangzhou, China, after thanking the project’s organizers and recognizing CIM, where he made the recording.  

From a technical perspective, Song Without Words wasn’t terribly difficult, Su said. Still, it wasn’t exactly free of difficulty. Once he’d mastered the music, Su detected what he called an “inner singing line.”  

“Its simplicity was actually demanding,” he said. “It was a very unique challenge.”  

But the effort was worthwhile. Last fall, Su received an official certificate from the Ministry of Culture in Uzbekistan thanking him for his “tremendous work and participation” and praising his “rich musical heritage and high level of performance.” 

More importantly, Su gained a certain clarity of vision. After taking part in the Song Without Words project, Su said he plans to look for more ways to promote international understanding through music.  

“I’m finding my direction for my career,” Su said. “I really want to create a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures. I feel like music can be used to bring people from different backgrounds into the same space. I think this is my mission.”