Quattro Piaceri - Tokuhide Niimi: String Quartet No. 2 - Chamber Music Works - Japan CD

Credits:

Quattro Piaceri

Description:

“A small whirlpool of sound repeats itself; eventually, the whirlpool breaks apart, falls silent, and the small whirlpool begins anew. This is also the rhythm of humanity’s endless struggle when faced with an unsolvable problem. It becomes a whirlpool, repeating itself like the exhalation and inhalation of that whirlpool. That is where it begins. The turbulent soul of a man staking everything on that very thing. From there, a surprisingly fresh melody flows down like a thread. From now on, I will listen to String Quartet No. 2, *Asura*, time and time again.” Mikio Sasaki (Poet / From the booklet) Born in Nagoya in 1947. Graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo. Graduated from the Composition Department at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Completed graduate studies at the same university. In 1977, he became only the second person in history to win the Grand Prix and the City of Geneva Prize at the Geneva International Ballet Music Composition Competition. In 1982, he received the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Performing Arts Creation Encouragement Award and a Special Award. In 1983, he served as a judge for the Geneva International Ballet Music Composition Competition. In 1984, he received the Excellence Award at the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival. He was selected for the IMC. In 2000, he received the 18th Kenzo Nakajima Music Award. In 2003, he received the Bekku Prize. In 2004, the CD of *Fūjin and Raijin* won the Grand Prize at the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival. In 2005, the Expo Commemorative Opera *The Swan* had its world premiere in Nagoya, and this production was awarded the Yoshio Sagawa Music Prize. In 2006, he was appointed Composer-in-Residence at the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, where he premiered his “Concertante Symphony—Élan Vital” and received the 55th Otaka Prize. Many of his orchestral works have been performed by major orchestras in Japan, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, as well as by orchestras abroad such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Netherlands Radio Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, receiving high acclaim in each case. He has also composed numerous vocal and choral works. Among these, “White Songs, Blue Songs” is widely sung in various forms, including by choirs, vocal ensembles, and soloists. Numerous CDs are currently available from Camerata Tokyo. Other labels have released works such as the “Concertante Symphony ‘Élan Vital,’” “The Eye of the Creator,” “Listening to the Wind,” “Piano Pieces for Children: ‘Prelude of the Wind,’” and “White Songs, Blue Songs.” His published works include *Listening to the Wind, Listening to Sound*, *The Mystery of Song: The Secrets of “White Songs, Blue Songs”*, *Norihide Niimi’s Introduction to Composition* (all published by Ongaku no Tomosha), and *Choral Music Is Wonderful!* (published by Kōsui Kikaku). As of 2015, he is a visiting professor at Tokyo College of Music. Camerata Tokyo