[3] At the Paris Conservatoire he attended Jean Rivier's and André Jolivet's classes for composition.
I owe to Rivier the language and the shaping of my music which, as Jolivet has said, should be "a mean to express ideas and not an aim in itself.".
This is obvious in many of his works such as Kiem Ai (Universal Love, 1978) for choir and orchestra, The Game of the Five Elements, (1982–1990), or Prajna paramita – the basic sutra of Buddhism – for 6 voices and instrumental ensemble, (1988) and Chu Ky, a series of seven instrumental pieces.
[4][5] Tôn-Thất Tiết composed the scores for three of Trần Anh Hùng's feature films: The Scent of Green Papaya, Cyclo, and The Vertical Ray of the Sun.
He has also collaborated with French choreographer Régine Chopinot on two of her dance pieces: Parole de feu (1995) and Danse du temps (1999).