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Juilliard FOCUS! Festival Highlights Japanese Music Since 1945

Jan. 07, 2015

Juilliard FOCUS! Festival Highlights Japanese Music Since 1945

Juilliard’s 2015 FOCUS! Festival, curated by Joel Sachs and titled “Nippon: Japanese Music Since 1945”, presents a broad range of postwar music by Japanese composers, including many first American performances.

The festival opens on January 23 with the US premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s Voyage X – Nozarashi for shakuhachi and ensemble, with Sachs leading the New Juilliard Ensemble and the venerable Marco Lienhard as soloist. The concert also features the US premieres of Akira Nishimura’s Orgone and Michio Mamiya’s Piano Concerto No. 4 “Scenes of an Unborn Opera” with pianist Robert Fleitz, as well as a performance of Sômei Satoh’s The Last Song, with baritone Christopher Herbert. 

From January 24-29, the festival includes four concerts of solo and chamber works including Toru Takemitsu's And then I knew 'twas wind for flute, viola and harp as well as Paths for solo trumpet, Keiko Fujiie's Three Pieces for Clarinet, Atsuhiko Gondai's La soledad sonora for guitar, Teizo Matsumura's Pilgrimage I-II for piano, Joji Yuasa's Observations on Weather Forecasts for baritone and trumpet, Toshi Ichiyanagi's Fantasy for organ, Toshio Hosokawa's Trio for violin, cello and piano, Hitomi Kaneko's solo piano work Un jour avec le piano, Shin-ichiro Ikebe's Ricercata for organ and Karen Tanaka's duo for horn and piano Enchanted Forest. The festival concludes on January 30 with an orchestral tribute to Toru Takemitsu, including performances of Twill by Twilight and Far Calls. Coming, far! for violin and orchestra, as well as Akira Miyoshi’s Noesis, led by Tadaaki Otaka. 

For complete details on the 2015 Juilliard FOCUS! Festival, visit juilliard.edu.

Click below for more information on the composers:
Keiko Fujiie | Atsuhiko Gondai | Toshio Hosokawa
Toshi Ichiyanagi | Shin-Ichiro Ikebe | Hitomi Kaneko
Michio Mamiya | Teizo Matsumura | Akira Miyoshi
Akira Nishimura | Sômei Satoh | Toru Takemitsu
Karen Tanaka | Joji Yuasa

Toshio Hosokawa
Voyage X – Nozarashi (2009)
for shakuhachi and ensemble
1(pic).1.2(2.bcl).1-1.1.1.1-2perc-hp-str
17’

Trio (2013)
for violin, cello and piano
11' 

Sômei Satoh
The Last Song (2005)
for baritone, string orchestra, harp and percussion
17’

Michio Mamiya
Piano Concerto No. 4 (1997)
“Scenes of an Unborn Opera”
for piano and orchestra
2(2.pic).1.2(2.bcl).1-1.1.1.1-perc-str
17’

Akira Nishimura
Orgone (2005)
for chamber orchestra
1(pic).1.1.1-1.1.1.0-2perc-pno-str
15’

Akira Miyoshi
Noesis (1987)
for orchestra
3(pic).3(3.ca).3(3.bcl).3(3.cbsn)-4.3.3.1-6perc-cel.hp.pno-str
15’

Keiko Fujiie
Three Pieces for Clarinet (1988)

Atsuhiko Gondai
La soledad sonora (2010)
for solo guitar
15'

Teizo Matsumura
Pilgrimage I-II (2002)
for solo piano 
11'

Joji Yuasa
Observations on Weather Forecasts (1983)
for baritone and trumpet
8'

Toshi Ichiyanagi
Fantasy (1992)
for solo organ
8' 

Karen Tanaka
Enchanted Forest (2013)
for horn and piano
12' 

Toru Takemitsu
Twill by Twilight (1988)
for orchestra
4(2.3.pic; 3.4.afl).3(3.ca).4(2.Ebcl; 4.bcl).3(3.cbsn)-4.pictpt.3.3.1-timp.perc-2hp.cel.pno-str
12’

Far Calls. Coming, far! (1980)
for violin and orchestra
3(2.pic, 3.afl).3(3.ca).4(3.Ebcl; 4.bcl).2.cbsn-4.3.2.1-timp.4perc-2hp.cel-str
15’

And then I knew 'twas wind (1992)
for flute, viola, harp
13' 

Paths (1994)
for solo trumpet
5'

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