Classical music is not a typically Western concept. In Japan, too, there is a tradition of learned music that has lasted for hundreds of years.
Unfortunately, for many people this music is a closed book. In this broadcast, you will hear two very different concerts. First you will hear a recital on the shakuhashi, the Japanese bamboo flute. This instrument offers rich possibilities of sound and tone bending, so the music is not bound to a scale. The music in this concert is quite close to the folk music of the country.
A completely different sound can be heard in the second concerto. Here, we hear six compositions by six Japanese composers, for voice, koto (lute) and/or sho (wind organ). These composers were inspired by Western classical music, but did not break with the indigenous tradition. It characterises Japan, the country that despite its intense modernisation always effortlessly remains itself.
Playlist
1. Shishi (The lion)
2. Reibo (Longing for the sounding of the bell)
3. Nameless
4. Toshio Hosakawa – Sakura
5. Kozaburo Hirai – Narayama
6. Hikaru Sawai – Syaei
7. Toshi Ichiyanagi – Voice perspective
8. Hanano Terashima – Shin Tasagasko
9. Rita Ueda – One thousand paper cranes for Japan
