This project was implemented with the cooperation of Radio France and Theatre de la Ville, two organizations that are especially influential in the field of music in France, a country that has long been well-versed in traditional Japanese culture.
The Hougaku Quartet gave a performance and produced a CD focusing on the Sankyoku music genre within Hougaku traditional Japanese music, enchanting Paris audiences with a performance unique to the Quartet, which works with both classical and contemporary works.
Performers
Hougaku Quartet(Noriko Hirata,YuikoTerai,Reison Kuroda)
Program
Chiyo no Uguisu(Mitsuzaki Kengyo)
Saga no Aki(Kikusue Kengyo)
Oushu Sashi(Masanosuke Jimbo)
Onoe no Matsu (composer unknown)
Transfiguration of Flowers(Toshi Ichiyanagi) 1988
Hougaku Quartet
A quartet formed in spring 2011 by four graduates of the Department of Japanese Music at Tokyo University of the Arts (Noriko Hirata / Yuiko Terai/Hiroyasu Nakajima on Koto, Sangen and 17-string Koto, Reison Kuroda on Shakuhachi).
Under the concept of creating music for today and for the future with traditional Japanese instruments, the Quartet’s activities have developed from a three-pronged perspective: the commissioning of new works as a collaborative effort with composers in order to explore the hougaku of “today” and of the “future”; the revival of modern masterpieces of traditional Japanese music composed since the 1960s; and the group’s cornerstone activity, performance in the traditional “Sankyoku” style (a classic ensemble with Sangen, Koto and Shakuhachi). The Quartet’s performances have been highly acclaimed in Japan and overseas.
Théâtre de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France
Radio France, Paris, France