Saiki City｜Solemnis Solemnis: Now, Sakura Saku Shiroyama again - Saiki City's hub for culture and art circulation and exchange | Oita Art and Culture Tour

2020.12.23 classical music

Saiki City｜Solemnis Solemnis: Now, Sakura Saku Shiroyama again - Saiki City's hub for culture and art circulation and exchange

Date	October 31, 2020 (Sat)

venue	Saiki City Saiki Shiroyama Sakura Hall

On October 31, the long-awaited "Saiki Shiroyama Sakura Hall" opened to the public. A ceremony and a commemorative concert were held to celebrate the opening of this hub facility that will nurture and develop Saiki's culture in the future, while inheriting the traditions of the past. The first part, "Somniles - Ceremony," was held solemnly, and the second part, "Fioris - Flowering," was held to share the joy with all the citizens. The first part, "Somniles - Ceremony", was solemnly performed, and the second part, "Fioris - Flowering", was shared by all the citizens.

This site contains Part 1 "Somniles - Ceremony".
[Contents of the recording]
Yu Kosuge (Piano) "Piano Presentation and Solo Performance"
Chopin Etude Op. 10-1
Chopin Etude Op. 25-1 "Aeolian Harp"
Chopin Nocturne Op. 15-2
Chopin Etude Op. 25-12 "Ocean"

Ryoko Aoki (Noh Vocalist) / String Quartet "Chant and String Quartet"
　Hagoromo Suite" by Baba Noriko

Hanae Nishitani (Soprano) / Hiroyuki Nakayama (Piano) / String Quartet "Saiki City Song Solo"
　Saiki City Song "Beautiful is - Saiki Hymn"

Mieko Sato (Soprano)/Jo Tsuchizaki (Tenor)/Hiroyuki Nakayama (Piano)
Verdi: "Toast" from the opera "La Traviata

CAST & STAFF

Jo Tsuchizaki (Tenor)
Born in Saiki City. Completed graduate studies at Tokyo University of the Arts. He won first prize at the 17th Sogakudo Japanese Song Competition, and studied in Vienna as a Fellow of the Agency for Cultural Affairs for Young Artists. She has appeared as a soloist in various religious and orchestral works from Bach to Puccini, and in 2019 she will perform in a concert at the Konzerthaus in Vienna to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Japan-Austria Friendship Treaty. She is a member of the Japan Academy of Vocal Music and the Japan Federation of Performers. This time, she will also be involved in the overall direction of the concert.

Masaru Kosuge (Piano)
Beginning with his debut at New York's Carnegie Hall in 2005, Kosuge has given recitals at prominent halls around the world, including the Salzburg Festival and London's Wigmore Hall. She has performed with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and others under the baton of Charles Dutoit and Seiji Ozawa. She has received many awards including the 13th Nippon Steel Music Award, the 64th Art Encouragement Prize in the Music Category, and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's New Artist Award. He selected the Steinway D-274 for the Saiki Shiroyama Sakura Hall.

Ryoko Aoki (Noh Vocalist)
Born in Saiki City. She holds a Master's degree in Music from Tokyo University of the Arts (preceded by a Master's degree in the Kanze School of Noh) and a Doctorate from the University of London. He has worked with major contemporary composers from around the world to create new compositions based on the Noh vocal form of chant. He has performed with orchestras both at home and abroad, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Florence May Festival Orchestra, and has appeared in operas and participated in prominent music festivals worldwide.

Mieko Sato (Soprano)
Born in Oita City. She was the first Japanese to win first prize at the 11th Tchaikovsky International Music Competition. She was invited to the Sofia National Opera in Bulgaria, where she starred in "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "Rigoletto". She has performed major roles in La Traviata with the Fujiwara Opera Company, The Magic Flute (Queen of the Night) and La Poème (Musetta) at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, and has performed with orchestras in Japan and abroad, including the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of the Fujiwara Opera Company.

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NISHITANI Hanae (Soprano)
Born in Saiki City. Graduated from the Music Department of Oita Prefectural Junior College of Arts and Culture, and completed the major course there. She won the third prize in the contemporary music ensemble category at the Mendelssohn Competition of the German State University of Music. Since returning to Japan, she has been active as a guest performer with Ensemble Moderne and as a chamber musician.

String Quartet
Yasutaka Henmi (violin)
Yoju Kamei (violin)
Takahiro Yasuda, Viola
Aiki Kitajima (Cello)

Hiroyuki Nakayama (Piano Accompanist)

MESSAGE

"Yu Kosuge"

This "Hagoromo Suite" was created in 2017 by Paris-based composer, Baba Houko. It was created based on the legend of Hagoromo, and the string quartet plays the story of an exchange between a fisherman and a nymph who brought back a robe of feathers that the nymph had left behind when she came down to earth to bathe.

I think the toast song was a familiar tune to everyone. I felt that it was a very good, warm hall that “rang”from the beginning. I hope that many artists will come and love the hall and nurture it.

I am very happy to have a wonderful hall in my hometown where I can feel the warmth of wood while playing. I am happy to be able to celebrate with a "toast song" despite the difficult circumstances. I hope that the Saiki Sakura Hall will continue to be loved and nurtured by the citizens of Japan.