Nagoya University of Arts Wind Orchestra
| Tivoli Festival Overture | Soren Hyldgaard |
| Three Spanish Songs | Hayato Hirose |
| Sinfonietta | Jan van der Roost |
| Interval/Intermission | |
| Fooga | Tetsunosuke Kushida |
| Pictures at an Exhibition | Modest Moussorgsky arr. Takahashi |
Concert Review
After the many fine performances heard at WASBE 2005 in Singapore, I was pleased to see the Nagoya University of Arts Wind Orchestra on the performance calendar. This Tuesday, 10 July, they certainly fulfilled every expectation. The stage of Ireland's National Events Centre was bursting with musicians as the 75 musicians took the stage, signaling the beginning of the event.
Conductor Masaichi Takeuchi began the program with Soren Hyldgaard's Tivoli Festival Overture. This well-known work, a cousin to his Hans Christian Andersen Suite, showcased the band's talents and gave us a preview of what we were going to experience during the remainder of the concert. The second work on the program, Tower of Babel, was composed by Hayato Hirose in 2006 and dedicated to his mentor, Jan van der Roost. It was first premiered in Leuven, Belgium in 2006 under the baton of the composer. Its seven movements, performed without interruption, are highly programmatic and are based on the "Tower of Babel" story from the Old Testament Bible. Its dark and moody beginnings soon gave way to a triumphal fanfare. Woodwinds are highlighted in extended lyrical passages, followed by the brass choir. They come together in a return to some of the introductory material and bring the work to a dramatic and triumphal close. Tower of Babel uses many ideas common to music of both eastern and klezmer styles, blending them together into a pastiche of modern orchestration.
The final work on the first half of the program was Sinfonietta, subtitled “Suito Sketches,” by Jan van der Roost. van der Roost, who serves as visiting faculty to the Nagoya University of Arts School of Music, was on hand to conduct. According to the program notes, each movement is a study in character and atmosphere, "displaying a variety of qualities and possibilities of the modern wind band." Movement I: "The Landing" began with a haunting alto flute solo. Muted brass provided a textural depth and the percussion created a humming curtain of sound through sustained atmospheric effects. Movement II: "Sword Dance" opened with percussion elements that evoked Taiko drumming. Its angular rhythms and constant motion increased the technical demands placed on the musicians and pushed the ensemble to its limits. Movement III: "Nightfall by the River" was calm and peaceful. Still, one could hear a possibly menacing undercurrent manifested in the underlying harmonies. Movement IV: "Towards the Future" was a mini-work unto itself, with quick technical passages, a chorale-section, and a grandioso ending. It included a joyous restatement of some earlier themes, including a return to the Taiko percussion of Movement II. van der Roost was exuberant on the podium and his Sinfonietta was a fitting end to this half of the program.
After the interval, we returned to the hall for two more works: Fooga, by Tetsuonosuke Kushida, and Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky, recently transcribed for wind band by Tohru Takahashi. Fooga, conducted by Masaichi Takeuchi, was commissioned by the Koto Youth Wind Ensemble in the spring of 2006. While not directly programmatic, the composer sought to "express Japanese people's sensibilities by sounds." In two sections, the first half of the piece featured a stately opening and florid woodwinds. The tranquility of the first half gave way to the energetic second half that, like the earlier Sinfonietta, featured the sounds of Japanese Taiko drumming. This work would make a good supporting addition to any program and should be accessible to most ensembles.
The final work on the program was Tohru Takahashi's transcription of Pictures at an Exhibition, conducted by Jan van der Roost. This transcription is based on Mussorgsky's original piano score and not on the Ravel transcription for orchestra with which we are all so familiar. As such, some of the elements we had come to expect were not present, or were scored in a completely novel way. This was an excellent opportunity to explore new ways to hear favorite works. By this point in the program, some fatigue was beginning to show in these otherwise skilled musicians and performers. The difficulties experienced were not enough to detract from the concert as a whole. The musicians consistently demonstrated excellent control of dynamics and phrasing as well as a sensitivity to their conductors and each other, and the applause following their performance was long and sustained. Cheers to the Nagoya University of Arts Wind Orchestra.
Concierto de la Banda de la Universidad de Artes de Nagoya
La Banda Sinfonica de la Universidad de Nagoya forma parte de la educacion academica desde la fundacion de la escuela de artes de Nagoya. Alrededor de 1982 la banda ha participado en numerosos eventos internacionales, permitiendo alcanzar a sus jovenes estudiantes, un nivel elevado. La gran banda que se vio anoche en Killarney, confirmo con creces esta tendencia. Un gran potencial, disciplina y una buena concepcion sonora fue lo que esta joven banda mostro.
El concierto fue compartido por dos maestros, el titular de la banda Masaichi Takeuchi y el director invitado Jan van der Roost, profesor en residencia de la Universidad de Nagoya.
El concierto comenzo con « Tivoli Festival Overture » la conocida obra de Soren Hyldgaard , homenaje a los famosos jardines del centro de Copenhage que llevan el mismo nombre. La obra es de caracter ligero y fresco e instalo la atmosfera adecuada para recibir a las dos obras centrales del programa.
« La Torre de Babel » del joven compositor japonés Hayato Hirose y la « Sinfonietta, Suito Sketches » del compositor belga, e director invitado de la noche, Jan van der Roost.
La Torre de Babel, es un fresco sonoro basado en la historia del Antiguo Testamento, compuesto en 7 movimientos ininterrumpidos. Dedicada al mismo van der Roost, maestro de Hirose, la obra fue creada en Leuven, Belgica en septiembre de 2006 bajo la direccion del compositor. Orquestada de manera brillante, extrae de la banda sonoridades y efectos coloridos. La duracion es de 12 minutos. Buena contribucion para los amantes del repertorio programatico tan en boga en las bandas estudiantiles y comunitarias de Europa y Asia.
La Sinfonietta de van der Roost, es ya una obra establecida en el repertorio, a pesar de su novedad (escrita en 2003) Ha recibido numerosas interpretaciones, sobre todo como pieza impuesta en los concursos de Kerkrade y Riva dal Garda. Jan van der Roost fue ademas el compositor en residencia del festival Mid-Europe de Schladming, Austria en el 2006, donde Sinfonietta tambien estuvo en el programa. La obra posee una dificultad considerable y una duracion de 24 minutos. La interpretacion de la Banda de la Universidad de Nagoya fue solida y convincente.
Luego de la pausa, se escucho « Fooga » de Tetsunosuke Kushida. Compuesta recientemente, en la primavera del 2006, la obra de Kushida es una buena opcion para los que buscan un repertorio accesible, bien escrito e original para banda de jovenes. La duracion de la obra es de 7 minutos y la dificultad es media.
El buen concierto de la banda de Nagoya, cerro con una transcripcion de « Cuadros de una exposicion » de Mussorgsky, por el japones Tohru Takahashi. La transcripcion de Takahashi esta basada en la version original para piano, y aporta colores nuevos, a veces sorprendentes, que contrastan con los ya establecidos en la memoria colectiva de la transcripcion de Ravel. La banda sintio un poco la fatiga de un programa extenso, y hubo, aqui y alla, algunos desajustes minimos, hecho que no impidio cerrar una velada de buena calidad musical.
©2007 WASBE and/or the contributing author/photographer