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Toshio Hosokawa's Nach dem Sturm Debuts with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra

Nov. 03, 2015

Toshio Hosokawa's <em>Nach dem Sturm</em> Debuts with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra

On November 2, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra gave the world premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s Nach dem Sturm (“After the Tempest”), for two sopranos and orchestra, at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. The premiere and subsequent European tour coincide with both the orchestra’s 50th anniversary and the composer’s 60th birthday. Kazushi Ono led the orchestra with sopranos Susanne Elmark and Ilse Eerens as soloists.  

Two of Hosokawa’s earlier works—Neben dem Fluss ("Next to the River") for solo harp and his trumpet concerto Im Nebel ("In the Mist")—took their inspiration from poems by Hermann Hesse. Nach dem Sturm is the first work in which the composer has set Hesse’s words directly to music. The text for this work comes from "Blumen nach einem Unwetter" ("Flowers after a Storm"), for which Hesse painted an accompanying watercolor. Hosokawa uses the poem for the second part of the 20-minute work; this is preceded by a violent storm, using the full force of a large orchestra and an extensive battery of Japanese percussion. Nach dem Sturm is one of several of works that Hosokawa has written in response to the devastating Tohoku Earthquake of 2011. He explains:

For me, musical expression used to be a method to find harmony between humans and nature; however, since the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, I began to reconsider the role of music. Music is a type of Shamanism; people pray by music, and calm the spirit of the deceased, creating a bridge between this world and the afterlife. The two sopranos represent Mikos [shrine maidens] in this piece. The first half of the music is an expression of a storm using only the orchestra. In the second half, the two sopranos sing Hermann Hesse’s poem, a depiction of a flower gradually finding light again in the aftermath of a storm.

Following the premiere, the orchestra takes the work on tour throughout Europe, with a performance in Luxembourg on November 17 and in Berlin on November 19.

For more information on Toshio Hosokawa, visit schott-music.com.

Details on the premiere can be found at tmso.or.jp. 

Toshio Hosokawa
Nach dem Sturm (2015)
for two sopranos and orchestra
text (Ger) based on "Blumen nach einem Unwetter" by Hermann Hesse
3(2.pic, 3.pic&bfl).2(2.ca).2.bcl.2(2.cbsn)-4.3.2.btbn.1-4perc-2hp-str
18’

Neben dem Fluss (1982)
for solo harp
13'

Im Nebel (2013)
for trumpet and orchestra
2.2.2.2-4.3.2.1-3perc-hp.cel-str
18’ 

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