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 JAPAN
Concert Tour
Matsumoto, Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka and Okayama
April 19-27, 2008
Silk Road Ensemble members traveled to Japan from China, Iran, the
United States and Canada for a whirlwind five-city, eight-concert
tour. During each performance, shakuhachi player Kojiro Umezaki
introduced the program in Japanese, putting in context a varied
repertoire drawn from Japanese, Chinese, Peruvian, Lebanese, Persian,
Turkish, Uzbek and African origins. Works ranged from somber to
exuberant, with moods as diverse as the cherry blossoms in Matsumoto
and Tokyo's urban pulse.
The concert tour was sponsored by American Express, which also made
possible a special performance by the Ensemble at the American School
in Japan, which Umezaki attended in Tokyo. An enthusiastic audience
of music students from several grades jumped to their feet for a
standing ovation after the performance, which marked a homecoming for
Umezaki.
Following concerts in Osaka and Okayama, the tour concludes in Tokyo
with two performances of The Adventures of Prince Achmed, a classic
animated film well known in Japan, for which the Ensemble has written
and performed a new live musical score.
Participating Silk Road Ensemble Artists
Jeff Beecher, contrabass
Nicholas Cords, viola
Jonathan Gandelsman, violin
Joseph Gramley, percussion
Colin Jacobsen, violin
Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Shane Shanahan, percussion
Mark Suter, percussion
Kojiro Umezaki, shakuhachi
Siamak Jahangiry, ney in The Adventures of Prince Achmed
Alastair Willis, guest conductor for Paths of Parables
Wu Man, pipa
Wu Tong, sheng
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A view from Matsumoto Castle: the Silk Road Ensemble performed at the Naganoken Matsumoto Bunkakaikan on April 19, when the cherry blossoms were still in bloom.
© Alastair Willis 2008
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Silk Road Ensemble members in the Nagoya train station: within Japan, the Ensemble traveled by Shinkansen “bullet trains.”
Photo by Heidi Koelz
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The Ensemble at a sound check in Tokyo: the daily tour schedule included rehearsal for three programs in addition to concerts and travel.
Photo by Heidi Koelz
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The Ensemble played two concerts in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. On the first program was Paths of Parables by Uzbek composer Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky, based on Sufi parables, which Ko Umezaki narrated in Japanese. Unlike most pieces performed by the Ensemble, the precise timing of the narration and music requires a conductor. The Ensemble was fortunate to have Maestro Alastair Willis in Japan for this role.
Photo by Heidi Koelz
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The Silk Road Ensemble traveled to the suburbs of Tokyo for a performance at the American School in Japan, Ko Umezaki's alma mater. The musicians performed music from Japan, China, Iran and Sicily, representing the Silk Road from East to West, and answered questions from students.
Photo by Heidi Koelz
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Students and teachers made an outstanding, engaged audience. They waved goodbye to the Ensemble members as their bus pulled away from the American School in Japan. Second from the left is Don Berger, Ko Umezaki's first shakuhachi teacher from ASIJ, who flew to Tokyo from the United States to be present for this performance.
Photo by Heidi Koelz
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A lunch before the concert: Alastair Willis, Kayhan Kalhor, Siamak Jahangiry, Wu Tong, Jeff Beecher and Joe Gramley at a restaurant in Osaka.
Photo by Heidi Koelz
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A view of Okayama from Okayama-jo, nicknamed Crow Castle because of the black wood of the donjon, shows the Okayama Symphony Hall, the round building in center.
Photo by Heidi Koelz
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Some Silk Road Ensemble members strolled around Okayama’s famous Korakuen garden in a rare break between rehearsal and concert.
Photo by Heidi Koelz
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Kumamoto Castle, on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, was the site for a final concert celebrating the reconstruction of this national landmark's 400th anniversary.
Photo by Isabelle Hunter
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The Ensemble rehearsing on the balcony of Honmaru Goten, the residence of the lord of the castle. Eight thousand Kumamoto residents vied for the 500 available seats in the palace courtyard. Tickets to the free concert, "A Journey through Traditions," were assigned by lottery.
Photo by Isabelle Hunter
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