INTERLUDE No. 1: An Original Landscape – for solo piano (1992)
In most of this piece chords and rhythms are replaced by an urge to express. Some rhythmic patterns are occasionally inserted like “islands.” The pianist voyages amidst these “islands” in an unstructured and unstable “sea.”
Only at the very end of the piece does a melody emerge, accompanied by various types of chords, which serves as a resolution. The subtlety is derived from the floating rhythms and clusters of sonorities.
I intended once again to reaffirm my view about musical creation that is expressed throughout my work.
INTERLUDE No. 2: In Memoriam T – for solo piano (1998)
Interlude No. 2 was commissioned by the Editions Henry Lemoine of Paris. The “T” in the title stands for Totu Takemitsu, to whom this piece is an homage. A certain Takemitsu-like sonority is gradually transformed into a different Takemitsu-like sonority. During the transformation process, sometimes simple and sometimes complex, the sonority constantly changes its quality (which is not directly related to Takemitsu) and brightness.
ECHO DANS LE BOIS (June, 2000)
I composed this piece and entitled it “Kodama” (Rag in the Forest) as an encore piece for two wonderful sister pianists, Mari and Momo Kodama. I later added a few bars for the piece’s world premier with the Berkeley Symphony, conducted by Kent Nagano in 2001. What will first be noted is the friendly and intimate tone. The tonality is meant to reflect not my own personal style, but rather that of the pianists. The piece begins with a short introduction in which the first piano and second piano can be heard in echo. As indicated by the original title, an introduction is followed by two choruses of ragtime, and the piece ends with a bright coda. (The title, “Kodama,” is for the pianists, but it also means “Echo” in Japanese.)
ARABESQUE II (1979-1991)
"Arabesque" is a series of five short musical compositions written between 1978 and 1983. It was composed for a variety of musical instruments and voices, including, beside the piano, soprano, saxophone, guitar and tuba. The second piece for the piano, composed between 1978 and1979, was first played by Nana Hamaguchi at the Salle Corteau in Paris as part of the series “ Japan, its Music and Musicians.”
The original score was then repeatedly revised until 1991 when the composer himself recorded the final version on CD. As the title "Arabesque" (meaning "intricate pattern of sounds or tapestry of sounds") suggests, the piano’s colorful timbre interweaves a twilling with much use of all three pedals, especially the central sostenuto pedal.
LA MADRUGADA (2005 - 06)
Yumi’s two arias
Barry Gifford wrote the libretto for the opera “ La Madrugada ( Before Dawn)” which Toru Takemitsu (1930 - 1996) was not able to compose during his lifetime. It was composed later by Ichiro Nodaira from 2005 to 2006, and played for the first time at the Opernhaus Kiel in Germany by the Schleswig-Holstein Orchestra directed by Kent Nagano. The piano accompaniment version of two arias sung by the protagonist Yumi will be performed today.
The plot takes place in a country where mention of the past, and even the possession of photographs happens to be prohibited by law. Some incident from the past, which is not clearly detailed in the story but probably concerns an atomic bombing or genocide of the Auschwitz type, is being kept secret by the state authority and the elders. The seventeen year old heroine, Yumi, and her boyfriend have dreams about that past incident and work together to gradually understand what truly happened.
The first aria, entitled "The Table Manners of Cannibals - All that is said is a lie " (Act IV), is a rock tune in which the young couple accuses the authorities. A police officer enters the hall to arrest them, and the scene ends up in a great confusion.
Text for "The Table Manners of Cannibals":
YUMI is on stage in a concert hall, the lead singer for a rock band.
TEVA is playing guitar among the other musicians behind her. The hall
is filled with young people who gradually respond to the band's music.
YUMI
Every thing they tell you is lies.
Can't even look in your eyes
But it's not you they despise
Just try this on for size
CHORUS
What do you know about the time before
Don't you think it's time
That we explore
What's in the past?
And do it fast!
I know your life ain't nice
No time to tell you this twice
The language can't be precise
With your head caught in a vise
CHORUS
What do you know about the time before
Don't you think it's time
That we explore
What's in the past?
And do it fast!
As YUMI and the band perform, thrashing around the stage, police enter
the concert hall an attempt to contain the excitement of the audience.
Their repressive tactics have an opposite effect, however, and soon,
with the band increasing their intensity, the scene turns savage, with
police and spectators fighting.
YUMI
They say what's in the past is past
But you know that can't last
One generation was gassed
Another wiped out by a blast
CHORUS
What do you know about the time before
Don't you think it's time
That we explore
What's in the past?
And do it fast!
The riot continues. More police arrive and destroy the band's
instruments, dragging the musicians off of the stage. YUMI and TAVA
break away and run together out of the concert hall as chaos reigns.
In the second aria "The Dreams – where the rain never stops" (Act XIII), Yumi finally gets arrested by the authorities and sings a lyrical aria right before being exiled to the sea. Later Yumi, who was intended to die at sea, is rescued by a large school of whales.
Text for "The Dreams":
After the parade has passed, the window shrinks to its normal size, and
YUMI rises.
YUMI
Here where the rain never stops
life is simple
One can only summon death not stop it
Relieve yourself of the effort
before it becomes absolutely necessary
What the sky says
I remenber
The noise beyond my ears is outrageous-
Do you see the bird
the pattern in the mud
People disappear before they pass
the body is forgotten
a horse in the fog
darkness is certain
laughter is incomplete
the clown amuses himself
waves freeze
postcards
of the unreal
false messages
cheap apples
a boy behind the curtain
big hands
horns for the dead
everyone wears a hat
love is a response
religion is the river
all men are lonely
one look says it all
faces pass the rest comes later
it's certainly peaceful
in the country
don't take my picture
the man still can't answer
it's over for the cowboy
the brain is responsible
careful of a smile
portrait of the dog
wrinkles in the air
a dreadful idea and more
writing with lipstick is sic
don't harm the reflection
point wings on everyone
&nbs
