Interview with Tatsuya Shimono, Conductor of the 746th Tokyo Subscription Concert
Interview with the conductor of the 746nd Tokyo Regular Concert!
Interviewer: Naoki Hayashida
--Your December subscription concert is truly a wonderful event that anyone interested in Britain should pay attention to, not just in music. First of all, you've decided to perform Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 6, celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth.
Since I have been invited to perform at the Japan Philharmonic's Tokyo regular concert, I have tried to create a program that tells a story or has a message.
When you think of Vaughan Williams, you think of "Greensleeves," right? I think that many people probably think of him that way, but I've recently come to realize that he's an incredibly amazing composer. While listening to and researching his various symphonies recently, I was really captivated by his 6th Symphony. It's truly magnificent. But I haven't had many opportunities to hear it live, so I thought I'd feature it here. Although the composer himself denies it, I'm certain that he was conscious of World War II in this symphony. I've read that he doesn't want to be too blatant about it, and instead wants the work to be heard purely as music.
Perhaps it's the scales, but British music has a way of resonating with Japanese people, naturally and without any logical reason. It's perhaps a bit extreme to say that "Hotaru no Hikari" is like that, too. That melody appears in the first half. It's precisely for this reason that the extraordinary serenity of the second half and the extremely violent musicality of the scherzo come to life. It may be one of his structural strategies. It all becomes quiet at the end, and you wonder what kind of finale awaits you next, hoping for some uplifting, happy, absolution-inducing music, but it never comes. The fourth movement is not a "finale" but an "epilogue." It's a challenge to the audience, to us.
There is a strong demand throughout, senza crescendo (no crescendo), absolutely no crescendos, written all over the score. Even when it says cantabile (sing), it says no crescendos. So perhaps it's a nihilism, a message not to express emotions. It's something that only those who have truly experienced fear can understand, something that leaves them in a daze... This kind of thing is present throughout this extraordinary score. And, I know I'm repeating myself, but it says epilogue. Doesn't it leave you guessing what this epilogue is? It could be the epilogue of this symphony, or it could be the epilogue of humanity.
We will be performing at Suntory Hall this time, and everyone will be thinking about something, as if they had just been hit with water. Some people may collapse during the performance, but it will be very interesting to see the reaction of the audience after we perform this with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.
-So you were wondering what to pair with this Symphony No. 6. When you think of it as a course meal, it immediately seems like the perfect balance, this sweetness and spiciness. It's also 20th century British music.
Finzi is one of my favorite composers. I ordered the sheet music for "A Farewell to Arms," and it was such a beautiful piece. I thought that pairing it with Vaughan Williams's ferocious No. 6 would convey a certain sense of purpose, even without any additional words. Since I was bringing British music to the stage, I wanted to add something more. After considering everything from Purcell to Turnage, I finally settled on "The Screaming Pope." The paintings by Francis Bacon that inspired me are so powerful (please see them!). When I listened to it, I thought it sounded the same as Vaughan Williams'. There's a certain similarity between the scratching and the shouting.
The Taneshi piece begins immediately amidst the beautiful sound of Finzi's Introit, which sounds like the beginning of a Mass. It's a piece that could still be considered contemporary music, with an incredibly large ensemble and even the use of synthesizers. Then, as the Taneshi piece's reverberations come to an end, "A Farewell to Arms" begins. These pieces are played consecutively in the first half. Each piece is wonderful, but I think the time between each piece is also part of the performance.
Composition: Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
You can watch the whole conversation on YouTube!
[Tatsuya Shimono and Naoki Hayashida discuss Vaughan Williams]
[Tatsuya Shimono and Naoki Hayashida discuss Finzi and Turneji]
