MUSIC TODAY 21: Part II

As mentioned in the previous post, MUSIC TODAY 21 is a contemporary music festival here in Tokyo. The second concert I was able to attend featured works by György Ligeti, Anton Webern, and Korean composers Unsuk Chin (whom I had the pleasure of meeting during the intermission) and Sukhi Kang. The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra vividly brought these works to life under the baton of Kazuyoshi Akiyama.
Ligeti – San Francisco Polyphony for Orchestra: I love most of his work, and this piece was no exception. The opening sounds evoked images of fog and mist that surround San Francisco Bay in the early morning. Then, colorful tone clusters delighted the ears (at least mine at any rate).
Webern – Five Pieces for Orchestra, op. 10: One of the masterpieces of the Second Viennese School. Very tricky to give a good performance of these atonal miniatures, but the orchestra pulled it off.

Chin - Rocaná: Wow! Sanskrit for “Room of Light”, this piece really bowled me over. The orchestra played blocks of sound over the fascinating rhythms being pumped out a very noisy (and large) percussion section. Reminded me a little of Ligeti’s “Atmospheres”, which makes sense since she studied under him in Hamburg.
Kang – Catena pour grand orchestre: Another of Chin’s teachers, but I’m afraid the pupil may have surpassed him. Catena (Latin for chain) was a little similar to the Ligeti, and Chin’s Rocaná, but less interesting. Sounded like something composed during the mid-seventies (which it was).

Chin – Su, concerto for Chinese sheng and orchestra: Composed in 2009, and commissioned by Suntory Hall, this piece was a little disappointing. Knowing nothing about it, I was curious to hear (and see) the sheng, but the writing didn’t show us much. It sounded like a reedy harmonica. The soloist, Wei Wu, gave it his all and seemed breathless by the end of it, but I still have no idea what the sheng really sounds like.
All in all, a great concert. Chin is a composer I’d like to explore further. Her opera, Alice in Wonderland, is out on DVD. From the clips I’ve seen on Youtube, it looks and sounds pretty interesting. Perhaps I’ll pick up a copy…