Credits:

Kurt Masur

Description:

Belgian contemporary music pianist Lucas Heisman performs piano pieces by Akira Nishimura and Keitaro Takahashi with vivid imagery and bright, piercing harmonies. Akira Nishimura's pieces include "Star Mirror," "Three Illusions," and "Hoetsu no Kane," while Keitaro Takahashi's "Wind Bell" and "Ryoika," and "Shikkun" for four hands. About the piece: Keitaro Takahashi, born in 1986, has studied and worked in Japan and Europe (especially Switzerland). His music is based on East Asian philosophies and concepts, using instruments, electronic sounds, and environmental sounds to integrate different cultures. Keitaro Takahashi: Wind ChimesA sound portrait of a Japanese summer, reminiscent of traditional Japanese wind chimes made of glass and ceramics, gently distanced by preparing the piano with a rubber tuning mute. Keitaro Takahashi: Rein Echoes composed for prepared piano solo in 2014. The word "Rein Echo" was coined by Keitaro Takahashi to express the rich echoes created by the soaring mountain ridges. The music was inspired by a magnificent Japanese painting called "Kourei" by Okuda Moto Sung, who used rock paints to create the motif of the Tateyama mountain range. The majestic rocky mountains and the autumn leaves spreading across their valleys reflect the gentle light from the crescent moon, and the mountains, dyed fiery red by the reflection, create a strong impression of serenity. The line of the waterfall in the center, almost hidden by the leaves, fascinates the viewer with its humble presence.Keitaro Takahashi: Shippokun, 2018, composed for piano solo. Shipporu" is read as "shikkun," a term coined by Keitaro Takahashi, who came up with the idea while mountain biking along a mountain road in Japan, and represents a state of simultaneous motion and stillness. Akira Nishimura: "Hoshi no Kagami" (Mirror of the Stars), composed in 1992. A mirror of stars shining coldly far into the sky. A quiet, yet unsettling image of the stars reflected in the mirror. The echo effect created by the sostenuto pedal gives each note of the melody an aura of reverberation like ripples on water. Akira Nishimura: "Three Visions" for piano, composed in 1994. Inspired by a trip to India in the spring of 1994, during which Akira Nishimura stayed for several days in Varanasi, a Hindu holy city on the banks of the Ganges River. The "Prayer" uses the technique of heterophony, in which the same melody is layered in slightly different versions. Akira Nishimura: The Bells of Hoetsu (1987) 10'29 Composed in 1987. A powerful work that makes extensive use of the piano's lower register and upper octave. (1/2)