Ichiyanagi, Toshi : PIANO ONGAKU 2
Work Overview
Instrumentation：Piano Solo
Genre：character pieces
Commentary (2)
Author : Sudoh, Eiko
Last Updated: April 24, 2018
[Open]
Author : Sudoh, Eiko
Piano Music No. 2 is a piano piece composed in 1959, utilizing graphic notation. It was written for the avant-garde pianist David Tudor and premiered at his recital. The score is published by Edition Peters.
During this period, Ichiyanagi encountered John Cage's indeterminate music in the United States, which allowed him to emerge from his previous period of trial and error and produce numerous works. All seven pieces in his Piano Music series date from this period. His statement, "Composition is not about prescribing but about presenting possibilities" (refer to Ongaku no Tomo Sha: Japanese Composers of the 20th Century), reveals his conviction in indeterminate music.
The four square scores contain no staves or notes; instead, circles and lines are drawn like abstract paintings. Following annotations, such as:
- "○: Play on the keyboard"
- "●: Play inside the piano"
- "/: High register"
- "‐: Middle register"
the performer improvises sounds from the graphic figures. Since specific pitches and dynamics are indeterminate, the character of the piece changes significantly depending on the performer's sensibility and ideas. Unlike the performance of works based on traditional staff notation, this piece heavily demands the performer's creativity.
Author : Sudoh, Eiko
Last Updated: April 24, 2018
[Open]
Author : Sudoh, Eiko
“Piano Music No. 2” is a piano piece written by graphic notation. It was composed for avant-garde pianist, David Tudor and premiered at his recital in 1959. The music score has been published by Peters.
In this period, Ichiyanagi encountered “music of indeterminacy” proposed by John Cage in the United States, and produced many works after long slump. All of the seven songs contained in his “piano music” series are works of this period. Ichiyanagi’s words, “Composition is not to prescribe, but to present possibility”, indicates confessions to “music of indeterminacy”.
There are no staves and no notes on the four graphical scores shaped as a square. On the score, circles and lines are drawn like abstract paintings. According to the annotation such as “〇: Play the keyboard”, “●: Play the inside of the piano”, “／: High range”, “‐ : Middle range”, we have to play the score by improvising. The appearance of music changes greatly depending on the sense and idea of the performer, because pitches and volumes of sound are uncertain. Unlike the performance of traditional pieces, a player’s creativity is greatly needed.