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World Premiere of Osamu Kawakami's Suite 'Un Jardin Miniature de Biota'

Jan. 15, 2022

Osamu Kawakami’s new work Suite 'Un Jardin Miniature de Biota', was premiered on January 8 at the concert ‘C×C Composers Journey’ organized by Kanagawa Kenmin Hall.

‘C×C’ is a part of a new series of concerts, ‘C×’ which began in the spring of 2021 at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall. It is an attempt to connect the past, present, and future, and to establish a new place where creative work can thrive by programming the work of a composer whose notable anniversary is being celebrated with that of a young composer: "Composer × Composer."

For the second ‘C×C’ concert, organized by Osamu Kawakami himself, Saint-Saëns's The Carnival of the Animails – whose centenary was marked in 2021 – was paired with Osamu Kawakami's, Suite 'Un Jardin Miniature de Biota'. Written for chamber ensemble, Suite 'Un Jardin Miniature de Biota' was commissioned by the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall and consists of fourteen small pieces in response to the form of The Carnival of the Animails.

In this new work, Osamu Kawakami’s deep interest in and keen observations of living creatures are fully on display as they have been in his previous works.

The composer notes that ‘Biota’ is a word that defines the composition of species living and growing in particular regions. It combines the words ‘flora’ and ‘fauna’, and includes ‘microflora’ in its wider meaning. The idea of ‘un jardin miniature' (a miniature garden) derives from the time of Saint-Saëns, when plants like the fern became popular as a result of international exchange and were kept and cared for in greenhouses or glass cases.

Pianist Tomoki Sakata (who, with violinist Akiko Suwanai, premiered Kawakami’s Banded Coral Shrimp last year), performed alongside young performers active in diverse fields. 

Listen to Osamu Kawakami's Tettigonia orientalis (2010):
(Osamu Kawakami/Tettigonia orientalis/Takeru Chikenji and Satoru Sakurada, violin;
Kei Sakoda, viola; Yui Hosoi, cello)


To learn more about Osamu Kawakami, visit: schottjapan.com.

Osamu Kawakami
'Un Jardin Miniature de Biota (2021)
for chamber ensemble

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