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Lincoln Center Festival Presents New York Premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s Matsukaze

Jun. 25, 2013

Lincoln Center Festival Presents New York Premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s <em>Matsukaze</em>

Fresh off its US premiere performances at Spoleto Festival USA, Toshio Hosokawa’s opera Matsukaze opens at the Lincoln Center Festival on July 18. The Spoleto Festival’s production, directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, travels to Lincoln Center for the New York premiere led by conductor John Kennedy and featuring soprano Pureum Jo, mezzo-soprano Jihee Kim, and baritones Gary Simpson and Thomas Meglioranza. Maestro Kennedy leads the Talea Ensemble in the New York premiere performances.

Adapted from a 15th-century Noh drama by the playwright Zeami, Matsukaze recounts the haunting of a traveling monk by two spirits, Matsukaze and Marasame, deceased sisters in search of solace from a life of heartbreak. Toshio Hosokawa speaks on the significance of the Noh tradition:

Noh drama is a healing of the soul. In Noh, the main characters are, in many cases, spirits of the dead. These ancestral spirits are souls who have experienced sadness in this world, causing grief to remain in their hearts. Their grief was solved in this case by returning again to this world (on the Noh stage).

In Matsukaze, Hosokawa explores the subjects of spiritual healing and psychological trauma beyond the afterlife. Inspired by Noh’s expressionistic approach to storytelling, the composer recreates the tale anew through an imaginative and contemporary lens. According to Hosokawa, modern performances of Noh are stagnant when it comes to innovation and change. Through Matsukaze, the composer seeks to release the art form from its traditionalism by creating music that is original but still reflective of its cultural origins. 

Matsukaze plays again at Lincoln Center on July 19 and 20 in the Gerald W. Lynch Theater. For more detailed concert information, visit www.lincolncenterfestival.org.

Learn more about Toshio Hosokawa at www.schott-music.com.

Toshio Hosokawa
Matsukaze (2011)
opera in one act (5 scenes)
libretto (Ger.) by Hannah Dübgen, based on Zeami’s "Matsukaze"
soprano, mezzo-soprano, bass, baritone, SATB Chorus
1(afl, bcl & pic).1(ca).2(2. bcl).1(cbsn)-1.1.1.1-2perc-hp.pno(cel)-str
80’

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