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Zen-On's "Groupe des Quatre x Tokyo Sinfonietta" Concert a Rousing Success

Dec. 20, 2024

On December 11, 2024, Zen-On presented a concert titled "Groupe des Quatre x Tokyo Sinfonietta" at 7:00 JST at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Recital Hall. The highly-anticipated "Groupe des Quatre et ses ami(e)s" annual concert series of contemporary music was created by Zen-On as a means of promoting and propagating works by contemporary composers. This unique ongoing project, solely organized and hosted by the music publishing house as a testament to their dedication to contemporary music, was presented for the 30th time this year. To mark this special anniversary, they partnered with Maestro Yasuaki Itakura and the Tokyo Sinfonietta, an ensemble with close ties to the four composers featured on the program. Zen-On live-streamed the concert on YouTube and the video remains accessible to listeners around the world.


Livestream: "Groupe des Quatre x Tokyo Sinfonietta" | View the concert program here.

This year's program featured exceptional performances of music by four esteemed Japanese composers, including the world premieres of Shin-ichiro Ikebe's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra “The Principle of Whirling” and Tokuhide Niimi's Chamber Concerto III “Around Nothing" and performances of Akira Nishimura's Corps d'arc-en-ciel (Rainbow Body) (2008), and Hitomi Koneko's Le Processus (1996).

ABOUT THE COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC

Shin-ichiro Ikebe | Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra “The Principle of Whirling”
for clarinet and orchestra
 
"Yasuaki Itakura is a rare and outstanding musician. I have had the good fortune to work with him many times in the past in his roles either as a conductor or as a clarinetist. The clarinet was a familiar instrument to me during my teens when I played it in a wind band and a junior orchestra. Knowing my past experience with the instrument, Itakura pointed out to me on one occasion that it was strange that I hadn’t composed a clarinet concerto. Considering that I had previously composed four piano concertos and several concertos for other instruments, I could see that he had a point. It didn’t take me long to get to work on it because I had a clear vision of the piece in my mind from the outset. I wanted to take advantage of the full pitch range of the clarinet as well as of the instrument’s beautiful square wave-like tone and its agility. The solo clarinet would have recourse to its distinctive gyratory features which would then spread through the orchestra. The orchestral clarinets would serve as the medium for ‘contaminating’ the orchestra with this germ of an idea. This was my concept for the piece. Yasuaki Itakura is given free rein as the head of the Tokyo Sinfonietta, which he directs. I composed this work in the summer and autumn of 2024 with such sights and sounds in mind."

To learn more about Shin-ichiro Ikebe and to listen to a selection of his works, click here.


Tokuhide Niimi | Chamber Concerto III ‘Around Nothing’
for chamber orchestra
 
"In his foundational work, the Tao Te Ching, the 6th century BC Taoist philosopher Laozi posits that existence arises from nothingness, thus paralleling the evolution from nothingness to existence to the totality of creation envisaged by astrophysics. From this standpoint, ‘nothingness’ might be conceived of as a state of intense but wholly invisible compaction. Such was the concept I had in mind as I worked on this piece. The opening prelude is followed by seven sections (I to VII) and a short coda. The work as a whole is cyclically structured. I should add that I composed it with a constant awareness that the Tokyo Sinfonietta consists of a group of soloists.

My dear friend Akira Nishimura passed away on September 7, 2023. I still find it almost impossible to believe that he is no longer with us. His unfortunate ‘absence’ is now making itself felt as an increasingly strong ‘presence’ in my mind. But such partings in this life must inevitably be forever. The title ‘Around Nothing’ conveys Akira Nishimura’s initials. A funeral bell can be heard chiming throughout the piece.

To quote the poet Hiroshi Osada, ‘Farewell my friend, let us meet one day on the far side’."

To learn more about Tokuhide Niimi and to listen to a selection of his works, click here.


Akira Nishimura | Corps d'arc-en-ciel (Rainbow Body)
for orchestra

The title, Corps d'arc-en-ciel derives from Tibetan Buddhism. It is said that at the time of death of a Buddhist Master who has attained complete realization through practice, his soul assimilates with the eternal light of peace separating from his body and the body disappears into the air radiating the colors of the rainbow. This state is called 'the Rainbow Body.' This piece is a meditative fantasy expressing a longing for the soul and body which obtain release from transmigration in such a beautiful way. The work consists of an introduction and seven parts. The number seven symbolizes the colors of the rainbow, and the seven parts represent seven levels of transformation and dissolution of the body.

Corps d'arc-en-ciel is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, piano, harp, 2 percussionists, and strings (2 violins, viola, cello, and contrabass). It is possible to increase the number of strings, if desired. Nishimura composed Corps d'arc-en-ciel from late autumn 2007 to the spring of 2008. The work was commissioned by Radio France, and the world premiere was performed by the Tokyo Sinfonietta, conducted by Yasuaki Itakura, on May 11, 2008 at the Cite de la Musique Hall in Paris as part of the Presences 2007-2008 - Festival de Creation Musicale. 
 
To learn more about Akira Nishimura and to listen to a selection of his works, click here.


Hitomi Kaneko | Le Processus
for chamber ensemble

Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, please note that this is a change from the work listed in the program.
 
"I composed this piece for ensemble in 1996. This was a period when I felt I needed to confront the topic of musical structure and the question of how I select and weave sounds together from an entirely new perspective.

In 1993, I composed a work for ensemble titled La Pièce for graduation from the Paris Conservatoire. It involved merely the presentation of a single chord subject to linear compression.

Making use of the methodology I acquired through my work on this piece, the next step involved the composition of Le Processus. As suggested by the title, this entailed a process of curvilinear transition of two chords, X and Y. These chords emerge in what superficially appears to be a discontinuous manner but is actually part of a linear process in which they are latently linked.

This is an important work me in that it marked the start of my search for my own
musical language. I am looking forward to hearing this work once again after a long interval."

Le Processus was commissioned by the Hokutopia International Music Festival. The Tokyo Sinfonietta, led by Kunitaka Kokaji, gave the world premiere performance on October 16, 1996 in Tokyo.

To learn more about Hitomi Kaneko and to listen to a selection of her works, click here.

Explore past Groupe des Quatre et ses ami(e)s concerts here.
Explore Zen-On's complete catalogue here.

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