Hayasaka: Piano Concerto / Ancient Dances On the Left and On the Right - CD

ENGLISH

<p>Well known in his native Japan as a composer of over 100 film scores, including the <i>The Seven Samurai</i>, and acknowledged by Takemitsu as one of his most formative influences, Humiwo Hayasaka sought to combine common elements of Western gregorian chant and Oriental, Gagaku-like melodies. His 1948 <i>Piano Concerto</i> is written in a romantic style suggestive of Chopin and Rachmaninov. The first movement is a requiem for his brother and an elegy for the victims of World War II. By way of contrast, the second movement is light-hearted and played staccato almost throughout. <i>Ancient Dances on the Left and on the Right</i> takes its inspiration from ancient Japanese courtly dance music, <i>Bugaku</i>, while the <i>Overture in D</i> moves forward relentlessly to a <i>furioso</i> conclusion that recalls the music of Stravinsky and of Hayasaka