Japanese Composers

Started by vandermolen, February 23, 2008, 12:32:40 AM

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Tapkaara

Quote from: snyprrr on July 21, 2009, 11:31:15 PM
I just saw "The Burmese Harp". Was that an Ifukube score?

Yes indeed it was. That film was nominated for the Academy Award for best foreign film in the year it was produced, 1956. Unfortunately, it lost.

Tapkaara

Has anyone in here heard the Naxos Ifukube disc?


gomro

Quote from: Tapkaara on July 22, 2009, 11:45:28 AM
Has anyone in here heard the Naxos Ifukube disc?

It's very crisply played, well recorded, and QUITE representative of Ifukube.  That Symphonic Fantasia #1 (is there a #2?) is a hoot, too, hearing all those Godzilla cues; listen to Ifukube and imagine miniature cities being stomped by men in rubber lizard suits. Gz. I guess the old definition of an "intellectual" applies: "One who can hear the William Tell Overture and NOT think of the Lone Ranger."

Tapkaara

Quote from: gomro on July 23, 2009, 05:36:01 AM
It's very crisply played, well recorded, and QUITE representative of Ifukube.  That Symphonic Fantasia #1 (is there a #2?) is a hoot, too, hearing all those Godzilla cues; listen to Ifukube and imagine miniature cities being stomped by men in rubber lizard suits. Gz. I guess the old definition of an "intellectual" applies: "One who can hear the William Tell Overture and NOT think of the Lone Ranger."

There are actually three Symphonic Fantasias. They were all written at the same in 1983 and all contain cues from the various Godzilla/sci fi scores from the composer's career. Symphonic Fantasia no. 1 is by far the most recorded of the three.

Ifukube for years refused to have any of his film music performed in the concert hall. He believed the music could not work effectively outside of the context of the films. But the public kept demanding it, and even his students at the time persuaded him. He gave in and the three fantasias (in particular, the 1st) are among his most popular works!

gomro

Quote from: Tapkaara on July 23, 2009, 08:36:45 AM
There are actually three Symphonic Fantasias. They were all written at the same in 1983 and all contain cues from the various Godzilla/sci fi scores from the composer's career. Symphonic Fantasia no. 1 is by far the most recorded of the three.

Ifukube for years refused to have any of his film music performed in the concert hall. He believed the music could not work effectively outside of the context of the films. But the public kept demanding it, and even his students at the time persuaded him. He gave in and the three fantasias (in particular, the 1st) are among his most popular works!

I gotta seek out the other two, then!

Tapkaara

Quote from: gomro on July 25, 2009, 01:50:36 PM
I gotta seek out the other two, then!

The other two Symphonic Fantasias are available on a disc called The Artistry of Akira Ifukube 4 which is available from the site www.hmv.co.jp. Choose to view the site in English and you should be able to find it.

Yes, they ship to the US, but shipping is usually around $12, I think. But they ship very quicky.

monafam

I purchased a Somei Satoh album online:  Toward the Night, which has "Ruika 1990", "Toward the Night 1991", and "Homa 1988".  I found it pretty interesting.

Tapkaara

Quote from: monafam on July 30, 2009, 06:41:49 PM
I purchased a Somei Satoh album online:  Toward the Night, which has "Ruika 1990", "Toward the Night 1991", and "Homa 1988".  I found it pretty interesting.

I admit I am not aware of this composer. What can you tell me about his sound?

monafam

Quote from: Tapkaara on July 30, 2009, 07:05:16 PM
I admit I am not aware of this composer. What can you tell me about his sound?

My overall musical ignorance may shine through here -- these works are slow and haunting; minimalist in scope it appears.  The music sort of floats there together and it can be quite pretty.  (I posted a review I saw below and I would agree that it comes across more "Western" -- not an obvious "Eastern" influence from the limited things I've heard.

Here is a site with a little more description -- http://newalbion.com/NA056/index.htm

I glanced at Amazon's review--
Satoh (b. 1947) is a Japanese composer of unusual power and inventivenss; he may very well be Töru Takemitsu's successor. In Satoh's case, however, the music is more traditionally Western than Eastern. Ruika (1990) is a work in the tradition of Miserere, by Michel-Richard Delalande (1657-1726), for cello and string orchestra. Toward the Night (1991) is for strings only, meant to describe dusk--of both the sunset and the sunset of humankind. It's still beautiful. Homa (1988) is for soprano and strings. This entire disc is a stunner. If you like Rautavaara or Takemitsu, Pärt or Schnittke, then Satoh is for you. --Paul Cook

Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich

#89
私は大きな興味を持ってこのスレッドがある!

greg

Quote from: Wurstwasser on July 31, 2009, 09:02:04 AM
私は大きな興味を持ってこのスレッドがある!
僕もこのスレッドが面白いと思っている。  ;)

Tapkaara

Again, I have to express my lack of enthusiasm for the Ozawa discs in this series. His works seem to meander much too much. I have tried on many occasions to sit down and take them in, but to no avail. His idiom just seems to lack a certain type of coherence that is abundantly available in Moroi, Akutagawa, Hayasaka, etc...

Mirror Image

Some favorite Japanese composers:

Akira Ifukube -



Fumio Hayasaka -



Yasushi Akutagawa -



Toshiro Mayuzumi -



These are my favorites right now, but I have many more composers to discover through Naxos' wonderful Japanese Classics series.

vandermolen

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 09, 2012, 04:31:53 PM
Some favorite Japanese composers:

Akira Ifukube -



Fumio Hayasaka -



Yasushi Akutagawa -



Toshiro Mayuzumi -



These are my favorites right now, but I have many more composers to discover through Naxos' wonderful Japanese Classics series.

Hayasaka's Piano Concerto (Naxos), is a wonderful  work - especially the long opening movement - a kind of threnody for his brother and the victims of war - a wonderful piece which I play over and over again, although I often give the incongruous second movement a miss!
[asin]B000H4VZAS[/asin]
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Mirror Image

Quote from: vandermolen on October 12, 2012, 04:16:31 AM
Hayasaka's Piano Concerto (Naxos), is a wonderful  work - especially the long opening movement - a kind of threnody for his brother and the victims of war - a wonderful piece which I play over and over again, although I often give the incongruous second movement a miss!
[asin]B000H4VZAS[/asin]

That movement alone is worth the price of admission IMHO.

Mirror Image

#95
As much as I like Ifukube, I have to say my admiration for Akutagawa may be even greater. His musical language seemed much more Modern and he wasn't afraid to throw in the occasional thorn-filled musical passage. :) One of the things I look for in music is contrasts. Almost all of my favorite composers work in contrasts or have composed works that rely heavily on them. A good example would be RVW's Symphony No. 4.

vandermolen

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 12, 2012, 06:29:14 AM
That movement alone is worth the price of admission IMHO.

Oh, absolutely - I find it incredibly moving.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Tapkaara

The Hayasaka concerto is one of the best kept secrets in 20th century piano concerto repertoire. Naxos did a HUGE service by recording it. In fact, I think it may be a world premiere recording. If it is, what a shame that it was only recorded "recently." But we have it, and for that we should be thankful.

kyjo

#98
Since this thread has been "bumped", I thought I'd comment on my admiration for Naxos' Japanese Classics series. Many volumes in the series have received negative reviews because the reviewers were expecting more explicitly "Japanese-sounding" music. I think that is an unfair criticism and I believe listeners should approach this music with an open mind. My favorite volumes in the series are the Akutagawa, Bekku (I had to order this from Japan ::)), both Hashimoto, Hayasaka, Ifukube, Moroi, Ohki and Yamada (the one with the Nagauta Symphony) discs. Akutagawa's thrillingly rhythmic Trinita sinfonica, Hayasaka's Rachmaninovian in the first movement/Poulencian in the second PC and Moroi's powerful, rather Mahlerian Symphony no. 3 were real finds for me, especially. One Japanese composer whose music Naxos has neglected is Ikuma Dan, whose six symphonies I was sent by a Japanese friend. I was highly impressed by this accessible yet captivating music. Unfortunately, like Naxos' other nationality series, their Japanese one seems to be losing steam :(

kyjo

Quote from: sanantonio on August 08, 2013, 10:17:20 AM
Agree 100%.

:)

What are your favorite volumes in the series, sanantonio?