Release Date: 01 November 2004
Label: Naxos / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 747313588220
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: MATSUDAIRA
Description
Yoritsune MATSUDAIRA (1907-2001)Theme and Variations for Piano and Orchestra Sa-Mai U-Mai Danza Rituale e FinaleYoritsune Matsudaira is descended from the Shogunfamily who ruled over Japan from 1603 to 1867, basedin Edo, later changed to Tokyo. The family name of theShogun was originally Matsudaira, and only a limitednumber of people, who possessed the right of inheritingthe shogunate, were allowed to use the nameTokugawa. Yoritsune's direct ancestry was fromYorifusa Tokugawa, the first Shogun's eleventh son,who lived in Hitachi-Fuchu, north-east of Edo. Whenthe Shogun regime came to an end, the imperial family,who had practically been deprived of powers and hadexisted only as a dignified religious and spiritualsymbol, returned to the forefront of politics for the firsttime in six hundred years. Japan's rapid westernisationand modernisation under the Emperor naturallyinvolved a drastic change in the life of the Shogunfamily. Matsudaira's estate in Hitachi-Fuchu wasconfiscated by the new government and the head of thefamily, Yoritsune's grandfather, was given the title ofviscount in return, following the newly introducedaristocracy, modelled on the European system. The nexthead of the family, Yoritaka Matsudaira, Yoritsune'sfather, served the Emperor as manager of the huntingfield and was to leave behind a reputation as anornithologist and a collector of rare stuffed birds.Yoritsune Matsudaira was born in Tokyo on 5thMay 1907, the first son of the \Viscount of Birds andheir to the title. On his mother's side he was descendedfrom the Fujiwara family, who had been the mostpowerful nobility at the imperial court from the seventhto the twelfth century and practically governed Japan.These surroundings imbued him with a peculiarcharacter. He loved artificial things, partly because hegrew up surrounded by stuffed birds, and he detestedevery kind of nationalistic element, because he hadspent his childhood between 1910 and 1920, whenindividualism and liberalism were in fashion, a reactionagainst the nationalism prevalent since the Sino-Japanese and the Russo-Japanese Wars. Repelled bymilitarism, aristocracy, heroism and Japaneseconventional homogeneity and collectivism, he evenrefused to wear a uniform at elementary school. Heregarded romanticism and sentimentalism as hishypothetical enemy; he never accepted the priority ofemotions over theories, sensuality over artificiality andcollective solidarity over individuals. Studying theFrench language under French teachers at Gyosei HighSchool, which was founded by a French Catholic order,he became more and more interested in French culture,which further fostered his unique character.It was not until Matsudaira entered university thathe decided to become a professional musician. In 1925,when he was specialising in French literature at KeioUniversity, he went to a six-evening concert series heldin Tokyo by the French composer and pianist Henri Gil-Marchex, who presented an overview of music historyfrom Bach to
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Yaqi Yang; Margarita Parsamyan; Robynne Redmon; Minghao Liu; Frank Ragsdale; Kim Josephson; Kevin S
Vilmos Csikos; Olivier Lechardeur; Manon Lamaison
Tomas Cotik; Martingale Ensemble; Ken Selden
