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Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Various Composers - Japanese Orchestral Favourites (Ryusuke Numajiri)


Information

Composer: Yuzo Toyama; Hidemaro Konoye; Akira Ifukube; Yasushi Akutagawa; Kiyoshige Koyama; Takashi Yoshimatsu
  1. Yuzo Toyama - Rhapsody for Orchestra
  2. Hidemaro Konoye (arr.) - Etenraku
  3. Akira Ifukube - Japanese Rhapsody: I. Nocturne
  4. Akira Ifukube - Japanese Rhapsody: II. Fête
  5. Yasushi Akutagawa - Music for Orchestra: I. Andantino
  6. Yasushi Akutagawa - Music for Orchestra: II. Allegro
  7. Kiyoshige Koyama - Kobiki-Uta for Orchestra
  8. Takashi Yoshimatsu - Threnody to Toki, for String Orchestra and Piano, Op. 12

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Ryusuke Numajiri, conductor

Date: 2001
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.555071

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Review

A colourful if noisy introduction to Naxos’s new series of Japanese orchestral music intended to stretch to more than 60 discs

Western listeners who are aware of Japanese music mainly through the subtle calligraphies of Toru Takemitsu will be intrigued by this sample of what is popular with Japanese audiences. With the partial exception of Takashi Yoshimatsu’s threnody for an endangered species of bird‚ a symbol to the composer of nature’s destruction by technology‚ there is nothing here that sounds even faintly like Takemitsu‚ but nearly all of it sounds intensely Japanese. Most of these pieces are based either on genuine Japanese folk melodies or imitations of them; several use Western instruments to imitate the sound of Gagaku or Kabuki ensembles‚ others prominently feature genuine Japanese percussion instruments.

The melodies proceed mostly in four­bar phrases‚ with much repetition or near­repetition‚ and most are in 2/4 or 4/4 metre‚ often accentuated by a heavily pounding beat. Naturally‚ therefore‚ to expand these melodies to ‘symphonic’ proportions (the average length of movements in this collection is about eight minutes) there is much use of simple variation‚ the addition of no less simple counter­melodies and‚ above all‚ of colourful scoring. Several pieces provide variety with ABA or rondo­like structures‚ but the Japanese taste for what Percy Grainger called ‘keeping­on­ness’ seems to be strong; there is a risk that despite their appealing exoticism and bright colour Western listeners may find them monotonous. And noisy: many of them reach very loud climaxes indeed. A lot of this music sounds like what a Western film composer might write if asked to evoke Japan: gongs and wooden blocks abound‚ as do tunes with a close resemblance to the allegedly authentic one in Sullivan’s The Mikado.

Etenraku‚ a transcription for orchestra of Gagaku or imperial court music‚ was once frequently programmed by Leopold Stokowski. A jury consisting of Roussel‚ Honegger‚ Ibert and others awarded Akira Ifukube’s Japanese Rhapsody a prize. Yasushi Akutagawa’s Music for Symphony Orchestra‚ which seasons orientalism with syncopation and touches of Prokofiev and Khachaturian‚ was popular for a while in America. There are hints of Copland and of Hollywood to Kiyoshige Koyama’s Kobiki­Uta; its folk melody has a longer span than most here. For those interested in more than brilliant‚ at times raucous exotica‚ Yoshimatsu’s piece‚ which does not use folk song‚ will be more satisfying: at its heart is a broken‚ tender piano solo‚ and it makes poetic and expressive use of string clusters‚ harmonics and glissandos. The orchestra is an excellent one‚ with much characterful solo playing‚ and the recording does it full justice.

-- Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 8 / SOUND QUALITY: 9
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/July02/japanese.htm
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nxs55071a.php
https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Orchestral-Favourites-Metropolitan-Orchestra/dp/B000063TS2

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Ryusuke Numajiri (born 1964 in Tokyo) is a Japanese conductor. Numajiri studied the piano and conducting at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, where his teachers included Seiji Ozawa and Tadaaki Otaka, amongst others. He also studied with Hans-Martin Rabenstein at the Berlin University of Fine Arts and Music. Numajiri divides most of his time between Germany, where he has been musical director of the Theater Lubeck since September 2013, and Japan, where he is both head of the Tokyo Mitaka Philharmonia (formerly Tokyo Mozart Players) and artistic director of the Biwako Hall in Otsu.
https://www.naxos.com/person/Ryusuke_Numajiri/31624.htm
http://ryusukenumajiri.com/

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11 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Would you be so kind as to restore the link(s) to this album?
    Thank you.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Hello! Thanks for the great posts, is there any possibility you could upload some more of Takashi Yoshimatsu? also looking for some Roberto Sierra. Thanks in advance!

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    Replies
    1. I don't have anything of these two composers, yet. Can you recommend some of their works?

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    2. sure, Yoshimatsu has multiple beautiful symphonies (#3 to #6), and also excellent works for saxophone and orchestra, and guitar solo music.

      Roberto Sierra has a couple of great Symphonies too (especially #3) and most of his work centers around contemporary music utilizing elements from latin america (especially his home country of Puerto Rico). He also has a lot of great chamber music.

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  5. Ronald Do, could you please re-upload this share?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Choose one link, copy and paste it to your browser's address bar, wait a few seconds (you may need to click 'Continue' first), then click 'Free Access with Ads' / 'Get link'. Complete the steps / captchas if require.

    https://link-target.net/610926/japanese-favourites
    or
    https://uii.io/ixJ8EGBQ
    or
    https://exe.io/WvSSH

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you very much Ronald Do! Best wishes!

    ReplyDelete