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UK Premiere of Noriko Koide's Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain at the BBC Proms

Jul. 27, 2023

On July 25, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Elim Chan, performed the UK premiere of Noriko Koide's Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain for orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. The work has all the hallmarks of Koide's unique compositional style and was well received following the world premiere performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Dalia Stassevska as part of the BBC Proms Japan last autumn.

Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain draws its power from the unspoken. The work's poetic title hints at its form: A dynamic slowly develops from recumbent sounds, in which Koide uses larger musical gestures sparingly. Rhythmically accentuated movements are carefully added, like delicate brush strokes on a sheet of canvas. This makes the piece seem delicate but also deliberate. The composer notes, "Western music language and gamelan music language often proceed in the exact opposite directions, [however], I'm finally starting to feel like Mac (Macintosh) and Windows are installed together."

Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and is available to listen on BBC Sounds.

Listen to Noriko Koide's Hika Runners High+ (2013): 
Noriko Koide/Hika Runners High+/Music From Japan Festival 2018/Yasuaki Itakura, conductor

To learn more about Noriko Koide, visit schott-music.com.

Noriko Koide
Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain (2022)
for orchestra
3.2.2.bcl.2-4.2.3.0-4perc(I: sus.cym; II: vib, III: mar; IV: tam-t, sus.cym)-hp, pno-str
12'
View the score

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