Tanaka: "Crystalline II"

Karen Tanaka: "Crystalline II" (1995-96) Signe Bakke, piano. The image is from a painting by Robert Motherwell. From the CD liner notes: "Karen Tanaka has always lived in a musical environment. She started formal piano and composition lessons as a child. She studied composition with Akira Miyoshi at Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo. Here her musical talent and her sound universe seem to have found resonance and understanding. Miyoshi had himself been a childhood prodigy both on piano and at composition. His interest in the sonic richness
of music was stimulated by encounters with French music and culture and through music studies at the Paris Conservatory. In 1986 Karen Tanaka moved to Paris herself to continue her studies under Tristan Murail and worked at IRCAM, the famous sound laboratory beneath the Pompidou Centre that was started by Pierre Boulez and that has had such a decisive influence on the awareness of sound in modern music. Murail is also known as one of the key figures in French spectralism, a movement that with its keen interest in sound and harmonic refinement can be seen as a further development of impressionist music. Acoustic instruments, alternative methods of playing, computers and electronics are explored and combined not primarily for the sake of technology, but to create a more precise and sensual experience of sound. It is this context that the work Crystalline arises in 1988. The title reflects the main idea of the work: the piece is primarily intended as sound sculpture, a rendering of a cool, timeless world of glittering, sparkling crystals. In 1995-96 Tanaka composes the sequel, Crystalline II. Tanaka herself emphasises that she does not create, but finds and uncovers a music that has always been hidden in nature and then makes it accessible to us. The first of these Crystalline pieces is divided into seven sections. The alternation between different sound settings, together with the music's strong elements of polyrhythms and broken figures, show that she has been inspired by Messiaen's distinctive piano style. The sequel piece pursues this fascinating sound uni¬verse further. But this work is perceived as more horizontally and organically cohesive than the first, with an inner flow that carries the music forward. Tanaka herself says that her own voice is more discernable in this last work. At the risk of making a clichéd description from a Northern European perspective, it could be said that Crystalline II, with its unfolded temporal horizon, seems to be more Japanese, while the original Crystalline is more French in attitude..."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• piano
• solo

[omgtkseth]

And its not like they are all part of the same school or branch of music, but I always depended on lot of guidelines that could embrace a big bulk of musicians so I could understand the common language between the,, because with sole paralangauge, sometimes I dont know what should I feel while I listen, what did the composer felt...

[omgtkseth]

It has taken me a lot of time to understand some modern music. To me, if it wasnt point music, symmetric scales like the octatonic, jazz music, or microtonal, I couldnt enjoy it. Music like this, I couldnt 'take a part of it and decide that it was the legs, and understand which was the body and the head'. Ligeti confused me too much, Cowell confused me, Sciarrino confused me. I think that Im starting to feel that can I stop staring at them through a window and can adopt them as part of me.

[tunisi28]

une découverte ! merci !!

[avivagabriel]

Karen Tanaka ~ Crystalline II (1995-96) ~ Signe Bakke (piano) ~ aviva

[eotto2001]

This is sweet. It is nicely coherent. It reminds me of some Ives kinds of things. Very nice. Thanks for the post.

[gonrolgonrol]

Interesting piece. 

[amuntvalenciane]

Incredible. Thanks for sharing.

[A3737AA]

Excelente! Espiritual obra de arte

Un piano es también un gran genio!

También es una combinación de imágenes exquisitas.

from Tokyo,Japan Factory-CORE Captain Shin.

[vlnbot]

Very enjoyable. Many thanks for posting.

[poulsendean]

Great CD. got it the day it was released. thanks for posting!