Volume 27 Issue 4 - February 2022

Mario Davidovsky’s Synchronism No.6
(also using electronics) is a brilliant work.
The immediately arresting nature of artistic
expression gives pause and it is no wonder
this work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
in 1971. Petrowska Quilico performs
Davidovsky’s masterpiece with stunning
mastery and her interpretation can easily
be considered among the most significant
among the many recordings of this important
work. In her seemingly inexhaustible efforts
toward releasing recordings of the highest
quality, Petrowska Quilico delvers yet another
gift for our ears.
Adam Scime
Dai Fujikura – Glorious Clouds
Various Artists
Minabel (daifujikura.com/#discography)
Dai Fujikura – Koto Concerto
LEO
Nippon Columbia
(daifujikura.com/#discography)
! Prolific Londonbased
Japanese
composer Dai
Fujikura (b.1977)
used to dream of
composing music
for the movies.
His studies at
Trinity College
of Music of the
scores of Pierre Boulez, Tōru Takemitsu and
György Ligeti, however, propelled him decisively
in another direction: toward the
concert stage. Fujikura’s compositions have
since been championed by musical notables
including the London Sinfonietta,
Ensemble Intercontemporain, Boulez and
many others. In Toronto, Arraymusic, Thin
Edge New Music Collective and the University
of Toronto’s Faculty of Music coproduced
the Dai Fujikura: Mini Marathon concert
in 2020, showcasing “one of the most active
composers on the international stage.”
At close to two and a half hours of music,
Fujikura’s ambitious album Glorious Clouds
comprises 15 substantial works for orchestra,
ensembles and soloists, embracing concerti,
chamber music, art song, instrumental
solos and electronic genres. Sadly, I can only
touch on a few samples of this rich musical
horde here.
The impressive orchestral Glorious Clouds,
evocatively performed by the Nagoya
Philharmonic Orchestra, was inspired by
the interconnected microbiomic networks
found everywhere on Earth, rather than by
the atmospheric phenomena suggested by
the title. Recounts the composer: “I thought,
Ah!!! Various small microorganisms make
the survival of the whole world possible –
just like processes within an orchestra.”
Glorious Clouds maintains a dynamic tension
between floating, swirling sonic textures and
an overall harmonic structure and thematic
progression. My ear was initially reminded of
Debussyan orchestral sonorities and colours,
yet soon enough Fujikura’s emerging strident
effects, sonic shapes teetering on melody,
plus novel orchestration and formal balances
were reminders that we’re in another
century entirely.
Sparkling Orbit for electronics and electric
guitar follows, incisively performed by
Daniel Lippel. Opening with atmospheric
passages, it turns abrasive and edgy, the guitar
repeating in the last section a rhythmically
complex distorted chime-like overtone
pattern over electronic craquelure. Serene,
derived from Fujikura’s Recorder Concerto, is
quite distinct again. Its three solo movements
are given a powerfully dramatic performance
by recorder virtuoso Jeremias Schwarzer
on three contrasting recorders. I found the
middle movement opening, scored for the
sopranino, evocative of the nohkan, the characteristically
bracing, high-pitched Japanese
transverse bamboo flute commonly played in
Noh and Kabuki theatre. While a recent work,
I can see Serene being widely adopted as a
standard recital piece; it’s that good.
Finally for this review, Motion Notions
features Mari Kimura’s brilliant violin
playing. In addition, she’s also strapped a
motion sensor to her bow arm wrist. It
sounds like it controls various types of
synthesized sounds and perhaps also live
processing. The result is an interactively polyphonic,
slithery texture, an unusual, and very
effective, musical dialogue between the
violinist’s acoustic music and the electronic
sounds directed by her motion sensor. It’s
another album favourite of mine.
Fujikura shares
album credits on a
second release with
rising star LEO (Leo
Konno b.1998 in
Yokohama) who the
label calls today’s
“hottest koto artist.”
The record features
the premiere
recording of the substantial single-movement
Koto Concerto with the Yomiuri Nippon
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Masato
Suzuki, plus three related solo works for koto,
all scored by Fujikura.
While the 25’42” concerto is an impressive
work judicially illustrated with the
composer’s signature deft orchestration, the
three solos make a strong case for the koto
achieving its finest, most delicate, satisfying
musical moments in a solo capacity.
All the works here are rendered with sensitive
bravura by LEO and vibrantly recorded
by Nippon Columbia’s engineers. Bravos
all around.
Andrew Timar
What we're listening to this month:
thewholenote.com/listening
Brahms String Quartets
The Alexander String Quartet
Declared “a stunning
achievement,” this release marks
the completion of the ASQ’s eightyear,
six-album, collaborative
compendium
— The Brahms Project.
As She Sings
David Tanenbaum
Luminary guitarist releases "As
She Sings", a compilation of works
written for him reflecting a rich
trajectory of aesthetics on the
instrument.
confined.speak
Ensemble Dal Niente
A collection programmed
in streaming performances
during this past year, despite the
formidable hurdles associated
with ensemble playing during the
lockdown, collaborating across
vast distances
Plays Well With Others
loadbang
This unique ensemble of baritone
voice, trumpet, trombone, and
bass clarinet pairs with a string
orchestra for adventurous,
challenging works that explore
lush soundscapes.
thewholenote.com February 2022 | 47