Japanese Classics - Takemitsu: Piano Music / Fukuma

$13.99
Label
Naxos
Release Date
September 25, 2007
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      TAKEMITSU, TORU
    • PERFORMER
      Kotaro Fukuma
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      September 25, 2007
    • UPC
      747313026173
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      8570261
    • LABEL
      Naxos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Chamber Music & Recitals
    Works ⌄

    1. Romance

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    2. I. Adagio

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    3. II. Lento misteriosamente

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    4. I. Slowly, sadly and as if to converse with

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    5. II. Quietly and with a cruel reverberation

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    6. III. A song of love

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    7. Piano Distance

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    8. For away

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    9. Les yeux clos

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    10. Les yeux clos II

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    11. Rain Tree Sketch

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    12. Ame no ki sobyo II (Rain Tree Sketch II), "In memoriam Olivier Messiaen"

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    13. No. 1. Breeze

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    14. No. 2. Clouds

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    15. I. Adagio

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma

    16. II. Lento misterioso

      Composer: Tōru Takemitsu

      Performer: Kotaro Fukuma




TAKEMITSU Romance. Lento in due movimenti. Uninterupted Rest. Piano Distance. For Away. Les yeus clos. Les yeux clos II. Rain Tree Sketch. Rain Tree Sketch II. Piano Pieces for Children. Litany • Kotaro Fukuma (pn) • NAXOS 8.570261 (63:57)


Kotaro Fukuma (b. 1982) received high praise from Susan Kagan in Fanfare 29:2 for a program of Robert Schumann’s works; she called his technique “dazzling” and opined that his version of the Fantasiestücke “leaves nothing to be desired.” The piano music of Toru Takemitsu would seem to require a total reconsideration of touch and temperament, but Fukuma rises to the challenge. He’s certainly capable of phrasing with delicacy, as the opening of Les yeux clos II reveals, with the addition of a biting modernity to the gestures of Piano Distance and a sharp, pointed attack in Uninterrupted Rest . Even so, he continually highlights the lyrical nature of the music, not by emphasizing its flowing qualities, as does Kumi Ogano (Philips—see Fanfare 16:3), or its contemplative breadth, per Roger Woodward (Etcetera), but through a thoughtful balance of dramatic detail and atmospheric resonance. And though his Litany may lack the warmth and sensitivity of that of Peter Serkin (RCA—see Fanfare 20:3), it reinforces Takemitsu’s connection with Debussy.


Another advantage to this disc is its completeness—which is not to say it is complete. Fukuma omits realizations of Takemitsu’s two graphic scores, Corona and Crossing , as does everyone else except for Woodward, who’s recorded them twice (Etcetera and Explore). But Fukuma does include several previously overlooked or rejected pieces—a pair of charming, songlike, albeit ordinary miniatures for children; Lento in due movimenti , the unedited original version of Litany ; and, most interestingly, a Romance from 1949, the composer’s earliest surviving piano work, which combines Japanese modes, elements of Impressionism, and a brusque urgency unheard in his later music. Given the fact that both the Serkin and Woodward discs are not presently available, Fukuma deserves strong consideration for both the quality of his playing and the opportunity to hear these rare pieces.


FANFARE: Art Lange