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Philharmonic Octet Berlin Premieres Toshio Hosokawa's Octet at their Digital Concert Hall

Jun. 01, 2020

The world premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s Texture for octet was given on June 6 at the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall by the Philharmonic Octet Berlin (Wenzel Fuchs, clarinet; Mor Biron, bassoon; Stefan Dohr, horn; Daishin Kashimoto, Romano Tommasini, violins; Amihai Grosz, viola; Christoph Igelbrink, violoncello; and Esko Laine, double bass).

Texture was co-commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation and the Japan Arts Corporation for the Philharmonic Octet Berlin, and is dedicated to the ensemble. The instrumentation is the same as Franz Schubert's Octet, D 803, which is the ensemble’s specialty.

The compsoer has divided the ensemble into two groups: one a string quartet and the other consiting of clarinet, bassoon, horn and double bass. Each group plays lively, calligraphically-shaped melodies, akin to the unforced lines of brush-strokes, which is one of the characteristics of Hosokawa’s music. In this piece, opposing elements, such as Yin and Yang, man and woman, high and low, strength and weakness, and light and dark, coexist with and complete each other, becoming tied together without defeating the other, while gradually shaping the sound of the universe.

Listen to Toshio Hosokawa's Fragmente II (1989) for alto flute and string quartet:

(Toshio Hosokawa’s Fragmente II, 1989, for alto flute and string quartet/Pierre-Yves Artaud, flute/
Arditti String Quartet)

Toshio Hosokawa
Texture (2020)
for octet
cl.bn.hn.2vn.va.vc.db

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