For her sixth Linn recording KUNIKO has chosen to pay a personal tribute to one of Japan's most celebrated post-war composers: Akira Miyoshi (1933-2013). Showcasing Miyoshi's marimba works from the last four decades of the twentieth century, this recording represents a reference collection commemorating the composer's significant contribution to this repertoire. Solo marimba works include the Conversation Suite, Torse III, Rippleand the unpublished Six Prelude Etudes, the last piece for marimba that Miyoshi composed. The inclusion of Miyoshi's Concerto for marimba and string ensemble inspired an exciting collaboration between KUNIKO and Scottish Ensemble. This recording offers a compelling exploration of the marimba's remarkable sound-world, highlighting sharper and more percussive characteristics than those heard on KUNIKO's critically acclaimed album, J.S. Bach: Solo Works for Marimba. Tribute to Miyoshiis an important addition to the wider percussion catalogue and enhances KUNIKO's celebrated discography.
*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***
This double-CD set from RCA Japan (courtesy of Arkivmusic.com's on-demand reprint program) preserves what presumably is the best of Mieczyslaw Horszowski's December 9 and 11, 1987 Casals Hall Tokyo recitals, along with the encores from each date. Listen blindly and you'd guess that an older yet quite well preserved and highly experienced pianist was at work, someone between 60 or 75. Try the 95-years-young Horszowski, who's on top form.
True, he doesn't exactly sprint through the Chopin B minor Scherzo's outer sections as he did back in 1940, but he makes a virtue out of necessity by leisurely unfolding and consistently sustaining the music's polyphonic interest. This also holds true for the C-sharp minor Polonaise. The A-flat Impromptu amounts to a bel canto masterclass, while Horszowski requires only dabs of pedal to project the Mozart K. 332 sonata's first movement to such texturally differentiated effect.
The Bach Fifth English Suite is full-bodied and virile yet sensitively delineated (the Prélude's effortlessly conversational flow between hands, each of the Passepied's bouncy, delightfully ambidextrous qualities). Perhaps the fountain of youth kicks in strongest with the two Villa-Lobos miniatures, served up with red-blooded élan. The encores abound with memorable moments. Horszowski plays the Op. 25 No. 2 Etude's opening statement as if he were kneading the triplet passagework into a seamless legato line, yet upon its reiteration he lightens the tone and mostly eschews the pedal.
Force and finesse are the yin and yang elements that anchor the three Nocturnes. The elusive yet palpable give and take of Horszowski's rubato in the B minor Op. 33 No. 4 Mazurka is easier for to you hear than for me to describe. Horszowski played Mendelssohn's Spinning Song on both concerts; the second version is more fluent and relaxed. He also repeated the Mozart sonata's Adagio, or, more accurately, sang it out in full operatic splendor. The slightly distant microphone placement accurately depicts Horszowski's tone from the perspective of an audience member sitting in the best seat of the house. Notes in Japanese only.
Zieritz: Japanese Songs; Le Violon de la Mort etc. / Brenner, Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie
Haenssler Classic
CD
$20.99Jan 05, 2024
This CD - significantly only the second CD dedicated exclusively to von Zieritz - presents a longitudinal section of her oeuvre. It begins with the Japanese Songs, written in 1919, here in the version for soprano and chamber orchestra from the 1980s. The centrepiece is Le Violon de la Mort, composed in 1953 for violin and piano and arranged for violin, piano and orchestra in 1957, as well as the trumpet double concerto of 1975, the final piece and, as it were, a satyr play. Like Hans Bethge's collection Die chinesische Flöte (The Chinese Flute) from 1907, the poetic model of the Japanese Songs belongs to the context of interest in exotic art of the fin de siècle. Gustav Mahler made Bethge's poems the basis for a large symphonic work; Grete von Zieritz took the opposite approach with the Japanese Songs. These are a kaleidoscopic sequence of the briefest miniatures. It would hardly be possible to do otherwise, since the Japanese models are not song texts in the European sense, but poetically condensed sayings that defy conventional song settings. Aphoristic brevity was the order of the day.
This is the third volume in the documentary series of Milan's La Scala theatre's "golden years." Renowned Italian journalist Enzo Biagi conducted these interviews that were originally produced on 16mm film. This installment documents La Scala's 1981 tour of Japan. It includes an inteviews with Claudio Abbado, Piero Cappuccilli, and Mirella Freni. There are also clips of Verdi's "Otello" conducted by Carlos Kleiber with performances by Placido Domingo, excerpts from "Simon Boccanegra," and Verdi's "Messa da Requiem."
KOHASHI-OVERWATER-VERPLOEGEN trio is a collective jazz group that creates a unique sound, standing on an equal footing with each other. Kohashi from Japan, Overwater and Verploegen from the Netherlands, beyond ethnicity and nationality, they seek and discover their own sound sharing the passion for music. Japanese pianist Atzko Kohashi had something special in mind when she invited Dutch bass player Tony Overwater to join her for a musical encounter. She longed to create a unique unit of bass harmony and melody with each voice being equal and contributing selflessly to the music. Her vision is connected to Japanese Zen aesthetics that generate simplicity and spontaneity. With trumpet player Angelo Verploegen they found their match- a soloist who can blend in, shine and support the music all at the same time. On a cold winter day, they met in an empty church in Amsterdam and started playing. For hours. Instantly the delicate sound of these three instruments blended into gentle and generous music that warmed their hearts. A few months later, they recorded the debut album Virgo in the only way possible for such a collaboration: in a beautiful radio studio from the 1930s, with a great sounding Steinway, only a few microphones but of the utmost quality and recorded directly to a two-track analogue tape recorder before a live audience.
Japanese Classics - Takemitsu: Piano Music / Fukuma
Naxos
CD
$19.99Sep 25, 2007
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.
Two CDs. 2020 release. The Rarities is a compilation of fan favorites, rare songs and unreleased gems, all hand-picked by Mariah herself. In addition, the second disc is the never before released full length audio from Live at the Tokyo Dome, Mariah's first concert performance in Japan in support of her 1996 Daydream World Tour.
Sir Stephen Hough's new solo piano album, Stephen Hough's Piano Postcards, explores the world from the perspective of the itinerant pianist sending home musical messages from his voyages. Music from Asia includes "Spring breeze prelude" by Taiwanese composer Deng Yu-Hsien and a piano version of "Aka tombo," a children's song so beloved in Japan that it features in citywide "5-o'clock chimes" across the country. Folk and popular traditions appear in "Cielito lindo" and "Nature boy," while the final group of pieces turns to nature, with works by MacDowell, Schumann and Sinding. Alongside these musical travel diaries, he intersperses new transcriptions of songs from popular films, including arrangements he created for Lang Lang's 'Disney Book' album. This is the first chance Sir Stephen has had to include piano arrangements of songs from Frozen, Coco and Mary Poppins.
Japanese guitarist Koki Fujimoto presents a recital of evocative pieces from France, Spain and Japan. He begins with his own arrangement of Ravel's Alborada del gracioso, a work shimmering with Spanish guitar evocations, and continues with one of Sor's finest masterpieces, the Fantaisie et Variations brillantes. Miguel Llobet was one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century and a prolific composer for the instrument. His mastery of harmony and melodic expressiveness can be heard in the exquisite miniatures celebrating Catalan folk music. They preface two expressive works from Japan - Fujimoto's Aki no Sankan Nigiri and Tropical Count by Sunao Isaji. Ansgar Krause's arrangement of Debussy's earliest known piano piece, Danse bohemienne, concludes the album.
The album's title Heimat is the German word for 'homeland'. Kenji Miura was born in Japan and studied in London and Berlin, where he has now lived for 12 years. With Heimat he explores the concept of a musical 'chosen home'. Heimat comprises Beethoven's 'Appassionata' Sonata; Schumann's Kinderszenen, and Brahms's Seven Fantasies. As Miura says: "In finding my way into German music, I also found my way deeper into the place I now call 'Heimat'. Acclaimed by Pianist Magazine as one of the '5 top pianists to keep an eye on in 2023', Miura recently joined the faculty at the Hochschule fur Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, where he passionately mentors the next generation of pianists
Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 52 / Suzuki, Kooij, Turk, Blaze, Blažikova, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Nov 01, 2012
On the 52nd disc in his monumental undertaking of recording all the sacred cantatas by J.S. Bach, Masaaki Suzuki includes one of the best-loved cantatas of all, Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140. With the famous chorale as the unifying element, Bach creates a majestic first movement which is followed by a couple of the most beautiful love duets in the history of music, between the Soul and Jesus, here interpreted by the soprano Hana Blažíková and Peter Kooij, bass. Following BWV 140 on the disc is Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt (‘the Lord is my faithful shepherd’), in which an adaptation from 1531 of the famous Psalm 23 provides the text for all five movements. It is thus a late addition, composed in 1731, to the so-called chorale cantatas that Bach composed a number of in 1724-25. The final cantata in this volume was composed for a church service celebrating the inauguration of a new city council, a ‘Ratswahl cantata’. For this unusually festive occasion Bach clearly wished to demonstrate to the Leipzig notables how sacred music was flourishing under his direction and to present himself as a composer. As a result, the opening sinfonia is a brilliant organ concerto movement, while the first chorus is a reworking of material which Bach would return to in the Dona nobis pacem of his Mass in B minor. The ending of the cantata is suitably splendid and festive, with trumpets and timpani joining in the praise ‘unto God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost’ expressed in the closing chorale. As this recording project is nearing completion – three more volumes remain to be released – reviewers worldwide are commending it for its consistently high standards, with the German web site Klassik Heute remarking that Suzuki ‘not even towards the end of his marathon is showing any lack of freshness or breath – one can only wait impatiently for the final discs of this series’.
Toshiro Mayuzumi was one of Japan's foremost 20th-century composers, enjoying a distinguished international reputation on a par with that of Toru Takemitsu, as well as that of an enfant terrible of the post-war Japanese music world. Versatile and prolific, he contributed music for films, the theatre, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and broadcasts. His enthusiasm for avant-garde Western music led him to study in Paris, and the Phonologie Symphonique is a synthesis of Varese-like acoustical experiment and serial techniques. The jazz-tinted Bacchanale is Mayuzumi's attempt to produce 'a cosmos of sounds reflecting the vital energies of the origin of music,' and the symphonic poem Samsara is a musical expression of Buddhist teaching, an attempt to escape the seemingly endless cycle of birth and rebirth. This recording first appeared in 1984 on the Marco Polo label. The relationship between the label and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra has been one of the most fruitful from the early days of Naxos to the present, right up to their irreplaceable contribution to the brand new Wagner Ring cycle conducted by Jaap van Zweden.
Hiromi's latest album, Silver Lining Suite pairs her virtuosic and emotive piano with a string quartet assembled by violinist Tatsuo Nishie, concertmaster of the New Japan Philharmonic. Devised for a series of live-streamed concerts at the Blue Note Tokyo during the Covid pandemic, the results blur the lines between classical music and jazz, crafting a vibrant hybrid possessed of the fervent, rock-inspired energy and cinematic beauty that Hiromi has always instilled in her music.
The pieces in this recording belong to Messiaen's first compositional period, from the 1940s to the early 1950s. The music of O. Messiaen had a major influence on the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu (Tokyo, 1930 ibid., 1996). Raised in militaristic Japan during the Second World War (at just 14 years old, in anticipation of an American invasion, he was drafted into the Japanese army), Takemitsu initially had a sort of rejection of the culture and philosophy of his own country and instead showed great interest in the various musical trends of the Western avant-gardes, especially French. The pieces in this recording cover a compositional span of about fifty years.
The leader of this captivating debut album, Yoko Yates is the celebrated composer of the soundtrack for the award-winning documentary film Mothers’ Way, Daughters’ Choice filmed in NYC. Yoko Yates pianist/composer/educator grew up in Hokkaido, Japan, the northernmost island where the vast ancient and ingenious nature is still intact. Yates’ compositional style and ideas are hugely influenced and inspired by her formative years surrounded by this unique environment. Graduating from Berklee with a B.A. in music, summa cum laude, she went on to receive a Master’s degree in education from Lesley University in Cambridge (MA). She furthered her studies at Columbia University, Teachers College (NY) for doctoral study in music education. While being a member of the piano faculty at Greenwich House Music School in Manhattan and at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music since 1996, Yoko has maintained a performing career as a pianist and sometimes as a vocalist, and has been particularly active as a composer.
“Yoko Yates’ finely crafted original compositions shine brightly with beautiful performances by all. This is a noteworthy first CD.” (Scott Lee - producer)
“Yoko’s music is imaginative, fun, beautiful and natural. It incorporates a variety of genres and has an emotional depth that hits my heart. Her unique style appeals not only to jazz enthusiasts but to a broader audience”. (David Gahan - lead vocal Depeche Mode, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2020
“Going beyond what words can express”. (Kyoko Gasha - documentary film director and Reuters journalist)
Hiromi's 2021 album, Silver Lining Suite, pairs her virtuosic and emotive piano with a string quartet assembled by violinist Tatsuo Nishie, concertmaster of the New Japan Philharmonic. Devised for a series of live-streamed concerts at the Blue Note Tokyo during the Covid pandemic, the results blur the lines between classical music and jazz, crafting a vibrant hybrid possessed of the fervent, rock-inspired energy and cinematic beauty that Hiromi has always instilled in her music
On April 2, 1979, Japanese musicians and Fluxus practitioners Takehiosa Kosugi and Akio Suzuki recorded New Sense of Hearing at Tokyo's Aeolian Hall. Described by Suzuki as the "culmination" of their sound, New Sense documents their experiments with instruments both traditional and avant-garde.
