Music From Japan: Highlights of MFJ Commissions III

To celebrate MFJ’s long history of commissioning Japanese and American composers to create new work, two new MFJ commissions will be presented alongside a retrospective of compositions from prior years. The three previous MFJ commissions are: Oyasuminasai (Good night, Sleep well), for female voice and piano, by Joji Yuasa, (U.S. premiere); Full Moon, for violin and electronics, composed by Mari Takano and performed by Mari Kimura; and Quatuor en hiver (Quartet in Winter), for violin, viola, cello, and piano by Ichiro Nodaira.

The program also includes the world premiere of two newly commissioned works: a piece by Milan-based Japanese composer, conductor, and educator Yoichi Sugiyama for female voice, clarinet, viola, and piano called Two verses by Du Fu and a piece by Tokyo-based composer Michio Kitazume for clarinet and cello.

These works will be performed by New York’s finest interpreters of contemporary repertoire—stalwarts of the city’s contemporary music scene. The ensemble includes world-renowned cellist Fred Sherry, violist Daniel Panner, pianist Stephen Gosling, vocalist Wonjung Kim, violinists Eriko Sato and Mari Kimura, and the two-time Grammy Award winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman.

The program will be followed by an open forum with commissioned composers Ned Rothenberg, Michio Kitazume, and Yoichi Sugiyama, moderated by Fred Sherry.