The result was this striking 19-minute piece in which the solo instruments are shakuhachi flute and the lute-like biwa, which take part in lengthy dialogues that fully showcase their unique resonances. In the brief orchestral passages, these sounds are echoed in the strings. November Steps was premiered under Seiji Ozawa in November 1967; this recording by the Concertgebouw/Haitink took place two years later, and was given an inspired pairing on LP with a great version of Messiaen's hallucinatory apocalypse, Et Exspecto Resurrectionem (see links below for a different version). A tiny bit more Takemitsu - and lots more besides - coming on Friday.
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| Original Japanese LP, 1970 |
pw: sgtg
More Takemitsu at SGTG: Asterism/Requiem/Green/The Dorian Horizon
and Messiaen:
Quatre Études De Rythme
Des Canyons Aux Étoiles
Turangalîla Symphony / L'ascension
Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum (Erato recording cond. by Boulez), etc
Thanks for this! I have to admit, I'm a little surprised you've posted this much Messiaen but not "Quatuor pour la fin du temps", or Quartet for the end of Time. It's great and because I have it handy, here's a version from last year performed by Apartment House (they also did a great version of Julius Eastman's "Feminine," which I don't have handy.
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Yep, must post Quartet sometime! I definitely have it on Disc 2 of the 80s Turangalila on EMI. Always forget about that as the Naxos is generally my Turangalila of choice.
DeleteHeard Quartet performed live in an Edinburgh church a few years back, that was really something... could feel the bass notes on the clarinet rattling the floorboards.
Thanks for the Apt House version! The Tarnished Stars piece was great too, a real Feldman-esque drift to it.
Many thanks
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