Aoyama Experimental Workshop organizes the performance of music related to postwar avant-garde artist collective Jikken Kobo (“experimental workshop”) as well as that of new works, dance, Noh performance, experimental Noh, Kumiodori (narrative traditional Ryukyuan dance ), and more.
On the initiative of Noh performer Kanji Shimizu, Aoyama Experimental Workshop transcends the boundaries of traditional and contemporary genres in its aim for new creativity on the Noh stage. This 7th installment in the series was a memorial performance in honor of the late composer Toshi Ichiyanagi featuring Aki Takahashi and Yuji Takahashi, pianists who worked closely with Ichiyanagi for many years. As well as the world premiere of Yuji Takahashi’s memorial piece “Museki Isshi,” the performance included piano music, violin, music featuring the sho, and John Cage’s masterpiece, the graphic score composition “Approach,” performed for the first time in half a century. The event also featured a solo piece by up-and-coming composer Madoka Mori, and a talk by Yuji Takahashi. The performance offered a multi-layered program that befitted Ichiyanagi, a lifelong avant-garde figure whose work transcended time and space. The event also included the world premiere of a piece for the Noh stage by composer Barbara Monk-Feldman, who was visiting Japan for the first time.

Performers
Piano: Aki Takahashi, Yuji Takahashi
Violin: Fumiko Kai
Sho: Takashi Ishikawa
Mezzo-soprano: Mutsumi Hatano
Noh song and dance: Takao Nishimura, Kanji Shimizu