# The TC Ifukube Appreciation Society



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Well, I have tried and tried and tried. My old thread about Akira Ifukube must officially be dead. It seems that my multiple attempts to revive the thread are in vain. I understand though, this composer has an unfamiliar name. When his thread pops up, why bother looking at it? You don't kow his music, so why should a thread about him matter to YOU?

The fact is that his music matters so much TO ME. I am ridiculously passionate about it and I want to do my part to spread some of this around. I have no expectation that anyone I meet, online or otherwise, will get anywhere near my level of excitement and devotion, but I still feel a sense of satisfaction if I can at least spread the word. So, I have decided to open a NEW thread with the hopes of instigating some fresh interest.

I could give a long-winded introduction to the composer here, but I feel the website I run about him can best describe him: www.akiraifukube.org. This is the official English language website of the composer. The site has been featured in the Japanese press at least twice, one on NPR'S Music Through the Night Programing and recently in August 2011 where I was interview about the website and the composer on NHK World, the international broadcast service of Japan's public broadcast service.

I penned the English liner notes to two recent CDs of the composer's piano music, both recordings featuring world premiere recordings. Through my website, I have been lucky to be the first person ever to write about several of his works in English and I have also published exclusive, never-before-seen (by the public) photos of the composer courtesy of the composer's family.

I am in the process now of doing a major updating to the website and I am in the midst of doing a great deal more of research into the history of the composer's life. I hope to make the updates active by early next year.

Ifukube wrote in a minimalist style influenced by Japanese folk music and the music of the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan, where he grew up. As a composer, he's best know as a film composer, having written the score for Godzilla (1954) and many of its subsequent sequels. He scored two Japanese films that were nominated for the Academy Award for best Foreign Film.

His 1935 orchestral work Japanese Rhapsody, by the way, won the admiration of my other favorite, Sibelius.

I first learned of Ifukube from my childhood love of old monster movies, including Godzilla. Though I was not a classical music fan, the music was certainly very exciting and beautiful to me. When I started getting into classical music (thanks to my having discovered Sibelius) I became interested in buying the Ifukube's orchestral soundtracks for his Godzill movies. I then discovered that Ifukube was also a composer or "regular" classical music and, having had a good experience with Sibelius, I figured I should give his compositions a go. When I did and I received my first CD of his concert music, a huge flame was lit and has stayed burning ever since. And this passion has led to my efforts to study and promote the composer.

Now, since this is the "Appreciation Society," I cannot expect anyone to appreciate a composer that they do not already know. But my hope is, again, that some amount of appreciation can be brought about. Or at least awareness.

I invite all of you to take a moment to explore this composer. I call the society to order!


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

I have (and really like) the Naxos CD reviewed here, which I'm sure you must also have:

*http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=9466*

What I need to do is refresh my memory by listening to it again, but it's not shelved where it ought to be (between Hovhaness and Ives), so I'm going to need to hunt for it and then get back to this thread in the next day or so.


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## An Die Freude (Apr 23, 2011)

I have only heard one work of his, the _Symphonic Fantasia No. 1_, and I loved it. I really need to explore more of his works.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Fsharpmajor said:


> I have (and really like) the Naxos CD reviewed here, which I'm sure you must also have:
> 
> *http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=9466*
> 
> What I need to do is refresh my memory by listening to it again, but it's not shelved where it ought to be (between Hovhaness and Ives), so I'm going to need to hunt for it and then get back to this thread in the next day or so.


Oh yes I have that disc. I enjoy the performances of Sinfonia Tapkaara (where I get my name, obviously) and Symphonic Fantasia no 1. The recording of Ritmica Ostinata on the disc, though, is not one I endorese. It is played too roundly and without the needed fire. You can also hear his Japanese Rhapsody (the piece Sibelius liked) on Naxos, on the Japanese Orchestral Favourites compilation disc.

Yes, revisit the recording!


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## Dodecaplex (Oct 14, 2011)

Tapkaara said:


> Well, I have tried and tried and tried. My old thread about Akira Ifukube must officially be dead. It seems that my multiple attempts to revive the thread are in vain. I understand though, this composer has an unfamiliar name. When his thread pops up, why bother looking at it? You don't kow his music, so why should a thread about him matter to YOU?


Or maybe I have tried his music and discovered that it wasn't for me.

Do you really have to be so strident when it comes to describing music that you like but that others don't? Do you assume that everyone who doesn't open threads about your favorite composers simply hasn't heard of these composers and that there can't possibly be anyone who actually dislikes them?


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Dodecaplex said:


> Or maybe I have tried his music and discovered that it wasn't for me.
> 
> Do you really have to be so strident when it comes to describing music that you like but that others don't? Do you assume that everyone who doesn't open threads about your favorite composers simply hasn't heard of these composers and that there can't possibly be anyone who actually dislikes them?


I am not sure it's the case that people simply do not like him. If they do not, I will allow _them_ to tell me that. I hardly think you can act as the forum's spokesperson on this point. And, by the way, there is the possibility that there are people that would like him, but need first to be aware of him.

If you do not like his music based on what you have heard, fine. I am not going to call you an idiot or tell you "you are missing the point." If it's not for you, it's not for you. I can more than accept that.

And speaking of strident, you really don't have a lot of room to talk based on the constant non sequitur posts you "contribute" to threads (like the word "Elephant") which, I suppose, represent your attemts to be random, humorous and ironic. Once you have anything real to contribute to this forum, I may take your commentary with a modicum of seriousness.

And yes, I am a promoter of music I like, as is everyone else on this forum. We should be allowed that luxury.

And finally, I think creating threads about composers and music I am really, really passionate about is much more à propos to the purpose of the forum than some of these pardoy polls and other things that seem to be all the rage these days.

Now, back to the subject at hand!


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## Dodecaplex (Oct 14, 2011)

Well, then, sorry for derailing the thread.

Elephant Super Elephant!


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I have the Naxos disc with those three works and I like his music. The only other Japanese composer I know to any depth is Takemitsu, I also have another Naxos disc with his orchestral music. I put them on the same level in terms of quality, but of course their styles are very different.

About the issue of not enough contributions to your older thread on Ifukube, it has had more traffic than one I started this year on Kurt Weill. Even Weill's immense popularity in the general scheme of c20th music, esp. stage musicals, doesn't guarantee that his thead here will get much traffic. That's how it is here at TC, for better or worse, one can do no more than start a thread, keep answering people's contributions there, it's like a good gardener maintaining his garden. Speaking of which, I'm hoping to regularly add to the Xenakis thread which I created & also the classical guitar thread, which I trust will garner at least some discussion of these things I'm getting into now...


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

You know, Taaps, your passion makes me want to hear him more and more...and I shall.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

kv466 said:


> You know, Taaps, your passion makes me want to hear him more and more...and I shall.


Well, that's sort of the point, my friend. I have no expectation either way as to how you will feel, but I am confident that his music is good and worthy of more exposure. So, as far as I am concerned, chances are that you will like him!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

An Die Freude said:


> I have only heard one work of his, the _Symphonic Fantasia No. 1_, and I loved it. I really need to explore more of his works.


What recording do you have of Symphonic Fantasia no. 1?


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## An Die Freude (Apr 23, 2011)

I download recordings off YouTube, so here you go:


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

An Die Freude said:


> I download recordings off YouTube, so here you go:


Great! How did youfirst hear of it? In other words, why did you seek it to start. And pease tell me, what do you like about it?


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

I am completely unfamiliar with him. I will get back to you.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

GoneBaroque said:


> I am completely unfamiliar with him. I will get back to you.


There's plenty of him on YouTube, thankfully. If you are looking for any specific type of piece, I can point you in the right direction.

Of course, there is his well known Sinfonia Tapkaara...now you know where I got my name...!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

I submit to the society (considering that the society is mostly made up of neophytes) a complete work by Ifukube, his Ballata Sinfonica of 1943.

I feel there are traces of Sibelius in this piece. In the first movement, look for ostinato string figures that may remind you of En Saga.


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## An Die Freude (Apr 23, 2011)

Tapkaara said:


> Great! How did youfirst hear of it? In other words, why did you seek it to start. And pease tell me, what do you like about it?


I wasn't really looking for it, I saw it in that channel and was my curiosity was piqued, remembering that name being mentioned by you here on TC.

I like the overall dramaticness (?) of the work, and the first subject just after the intro is just superb.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

An Die Freude said:


> I wasn't really looking for it, I saw it in that channel and was my curiosity was piqued, remembering that name being mentioned by you here on TC.
> 
> I like the overall dramaticness (?) of the work, and the first subject just after the intro is just superb.


It's certainly a great work and it has a lot of popular appeal. I am just so confident that if (and when) his music gets more international renown, it will be well received by a mostly unknowing public.

Please take a listen to Ballata Sinfonica which I posted above. It is more ethnic in character than SF no 1. But the modal melodies and exciting rhythms are all there. The second movement is based on the scale of the traditional Japanese stringed instrument, the koto. I guess it's what a koto would sound like orchestrated!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

It was raining in Lakeside, CA all day. Now it is evening and the air is calm. Ah, a perfect moment for me to present to the society some calm music appropriate to the mood.

A brief but beautiful harp solo. One of Ifukube's better known themes, The Sacred Fountain. Enjoy!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

OK, now that I am back, time to do a little of the old self-promotion. I am the webmaster of the official English language website about the Japanese composer Akira Ifukube. Although he was one of the most respected Japanese composers of concert music, he is best known in the West as a film composer. He was the composer for the original Godzilla (1954) and many of the sequels. He worked with many of Japan's most famous directors including Kurosawa. He also scored Josef von Sternberg's final film, Anatahan. (Von Sternberg was most famous for his film The Blue Angel with Marlene Dietrich.) Two of the films Ifukube scored were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Ifukube is an obsession of mine and I have studied him for years. Indeed, the study continues to this day. I invite you to look at the (still in progress) site at www.akiraifukube.org.

And if you'd be so kind, I ask you to "Like" the website on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AKIRAIFUKUBEORG

Here is a snippet of his marimba concerto that was performed at Carnegie Hall. The sound isn't great, but it looks like an exciting performance!


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## tonystanton (Mar 18, 2013)

I can't believe no one has mentioned A SINGLE thing about his name - Immature child at the back of the classroom.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

tonystanton said:


> I can't believe no one has mentioned A SINGLE thing about his name - Immature child at the back of the classroom.


Fuku, tonystanton.


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## Llyranor (Dec 20, 2010)

Ah, Ifukube. I fell in love with his 1st violin concerto a while ago, so I had to embark on a quest to obtain his 2nd. Unfortunately, it was impossible to find online. All out of stock, unavailable, or some marketplace sellers who'd only ship to Japan. Alas, I had to give up the quest.

Fortunately, I was in Japan this past December, and remembered to check at local record stores. Fortunately, one shop did have music by him, and even more fortunately, the back cover had English titles. There it was, the legendary 2nd violin concerto! A thing of beauty, that. It didn't completely wow me like the first, but it sounds more introspective, perhaps. It was the version with Takeshi Koyabashi (Yasushi Akutagawa conducting). It was a 2-CD set that came with a few more of his compositions: Ballata Sinfonica, Ritmica Ostinata, Lauda Concertata, Japanese Rhapsody, Sinfonia Tapkara, Triptyque Aborigène. Quite an enjoyable CD-set!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Llyranor said:


> Ah, Ifukube. I fell in love with his 1st violin concerto a while ago, so I had to embark on a quest to obtain his 2nd. Unfortunately, it was impossible to find online. All out of stock, unavailable, or some marketplace sellers who'd only ship to Japan. Alas, I had to give up the quest.
> 
> Fortunately, I was in Japan this past December, and remembered to check at local record stores. Fortunately, one shop did have music by him, and even more fortunately, the back cover had English titles. There it was, the legendary 2nd violin concerto! A thing of beauty, that. It didn't completely wow me like the first, but it sounds more introspective, perhaps. It was the version with Takeshi Koyabashi (Yasushi Akutagawa conducting). It was a 2-CD set that came with a few more of his compositions: Ballata Sinfonica, Ritmica Ostinata, Lauda Concertata, Japanese Rhapsody, Sinfonia Tapkara, Triptyque Aborigène. Quite an enjoyable CD-set!


This is impressive...someone else who has heard his music! There are a few others on this forum, but not many. This makes my evening.

I know the two-CD set you are referring to It's a re-issue/amalgamation of older recordings that appeared on the Fontec label.

His 1st Violin Concerto is one of his best works and, if it were performed in the US, I truly, truly think it would become popular. It is as tuneful and "friendly" as anything he ever wrote. The one-movement second concerto is not as flashy and immediately appealing as the first, true, but it is not without merit. Indeed, I agree it is more introspective. Ifukube wrote it at the request of the violinist Kobayashi.

I'd love to get a few more specific comments from you on the first concerto...


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## Llyranor (Dec 20, 2010)

The 1st violin concerto, by the sound of it, sounds very much like a violon concerto performed with Western instruments (unless it utilizes Japanese traditional instruments which I wasn't aware of). Yet, at the same time, it sounds so distinctively Japanese, that you couldn't mistake the nationality of the composer - and I can't even explain why. I love the tone of the solo violin, he makes great use of percussion, and I especially love the winds at the beginning of the 2nd mvt.

I regard as the best modern violin concerto alongside the Vasks. It's probably in my top5 violin concerti all periods confounded too.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Llyranor said:


> The 1st violin concerto, by the sound of it, sounds very much like a violon concerto performed with Western instruments (unless it utilizes Japanese traditional instruments which I wasn't aware of). Yet, at the same time, it sounds so distinctively Japanese, that you couldn't mistake the nationality of the composer - and I can't even explain why. I love the tone of the solo violin, he makes great use of percussion, and I especially love the winds at the beginning of the 2nd mvt.
> 
> I regard as the best modern violin concerto alongside the Vasks. It's probably in my top5 violin concerti all periods confounded too.


GREAT comments!! I am amazed that you think so highly of the concerto. It certainly is one my favorites and the bottom line is that it is a QUALITY CONCERTO. The music really is GOOD.

No, he did not use any Japanese instruments in the piece but I agree, the Japanese aesthetic is surely there. And what is cool about Ifukube is that he sounds Japanese not by imitating Japanese sounds on a superficial level. The Japanese aesthetic is so internalized in him that it's almost as if he creates new folk music.

Here are two little known facts about the concerto:

He finished it in Nikko, a mountainous region. At night, while writing the music, Ifukube could hear monkeys screaming in the mountains. This sound inspired his writing, though nothing in the music sounds like screaming primates!

The version we know now has only two movements, but it originally had three. The "missing" movement was a slow middle movement called "Arioso." When the work premiered, a Japanese music critic said that the concerto was "too much Ifukube" and, as a reaction to this, the composer elected to shorten the work by eliminating the middle movement. (At this time, many in the Japanese music establishment were not kind to Ifukube as he did not embrace European musical modernism as was "expected" by any compose who wanted to be taken seriously. Ifukube was often sensitive to the remarks of critics.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

I will have to investigate what Ifukube I have in my record collection after reading all of this, I'm quite sure I have the Ballata Sinfonica on an BIS CD with Malmö Symphonic Orchestra and Jum'ichi Hirokami (?) ...

/ptr


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

ptr said:


> I will have to investigate what Ifukube I have in my record collection after reading all of this, I'm quite sure I have the Ballata Sinfonica on an BIS CD with Malmö Symphonic Orchestra and Jum'ichi Hirokami (?) ...
> 
> /ptr


I know that recording well. It's a great reading of one of my favorite Ifukube scores, though the recorded sound is a little distant. Despite that, the performance itself is done very well and the conductor Hirokami was a student of the composer.

Ballata Sinfonica is a great score, with lots of passion and energy in the first movement, dark contemplation in the second. The score was dedicated to the composer's older brother who died prematurely during the Second World War.

If you have it, I'd love to read your comments on it.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

I'm still here (in this forum, occasionally anyway), and I do still dip my toe into Ifukube's works regularly, and always find them enjoyable! I'm no fanatic (I reserve my fanaticism for Stravinsky), but I've built up a small collection of his works now:


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

bassClef said:


> I'm still here (in this forum, occasionally anyway), and I do still dip my toe into Ifukube's works regularly, and always find them enjoyable! I'm no fanatic (I reserve my fanaticism for Stravinsky), but I've built up a small collection of his works now:
> 
> View attachment 15156


Actually, that is not a bad collection. As I am sure you can imagine, I have each of those myself...and then some!

Do you have any pieces that stand out for you?


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

Tapkaara said:


> Actually, that is not a bad collection. As I am sure you can imagine, I have each of those myself...and then some!
> 
> Do you have any pieces that stand out for you?


These are my favourites:
Sinfonica Tapkaara (obviously! especially the live 90th birthday concert recording of the Vivace on disk 8 of that set - thrilling stuff)
Salome (Ballet)
Symphonic Fantasia No. 2
Drumming in Japan (Ballet)
Symphonic Fantasy 'Godzilla vs Kingghidora'

Have you counted how many albums of his works you have ?


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

bassClef said:


> These are my favourites:
> Sinfonica Tapkaara (obviously! especially the live 90th birthday concert recording of the Vivace on disk 8 of that set - thrilling stuff)
> Salome (Ballet)
> Symphonic Fantasia No. 2
> ...


No, I have never bothered counting. I am not the kind of person who meticulously catalogues my recordings...though I should. It would make finding them A LOT easier!

You mention some great pieces there. Salome is an absolute favorite of mine. And that Vivace from Sinfonia Tapkaara for the 90th birthday volume is popular, rightfully so! I just wish that the WHOLE symphony was performed instead of just the final movement.

It really is making my day to see others in here who can appreciate this composer. I knew you did, bassclef, but the fact we are discussing this brings me much happiness!


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

That screenshot I posted is from an app I wrote myself and it makes finding things very easy. I live by the ratings system, I listen to so much music (it's on constantly while I'm working - fortunately I can work from home and have a decent hifi in my office) that I have to add a rating to the pieces I like for fear I would never find them again, or even remember what they were. 

For example I know I have 70 Stravinsky albums (edit: +22 from the box set I haven't ripped), plus another 14 in which he appears amongst other composers. I rip (nearly) all the physical CDs that I own and add them to the digital collection and can play any album instantly through a wireless squeezebox linked to my office hifi or my main one downstairs - all very convenient.

Back to Ifukube though, it's down to you that I even know about him, so thanks again for that. I am going to add Salome to my playlist for this evening


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

bassClef said:


> That screenshot I posted is from an app I wrote myself and it makes finding things very easy. I live by the ratings system, I listen to so much music (it's on constantly while I'm working - fortunately I can work from home and have a decent hifi in my office) that I have to add a rating to the pieces I like for fear I would never find them again, or even remember what they were.
> 
> For example I know I have 70 Stravinsky albums, plus another 14 in which he appears amongst other composers. I rip all the physical CDs that I own and add them to the digital collection and can play any album instantly through a wireless squeezebox linked to my office hifi or my main one downstairs - all very convenient.
> 
> Back to Ifukube though, it's down to you that I even know about him, so thanks again for that. I am going to add Salome to my playlist for this evening


Hats off to you for your organization! Let me know how your Salome listening goes!


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

I've been listening to another piece before the main body of this evening's performance - Oberture festiva 'SA BAGO FILIPINAS' - it's great stuff, added to my favourites!. Being curious about it's origins, and unable to read the CD liner notes since they are in Japanese, I banged the title into Google and found my way to your http://www.akiraifukube.org/oberture_festiva.htm page - very useful info!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

bassClef said:


> I've been listening to another piece before the main body of this evening's performance - Oberture festiva 'SA BAGO FILIPINAS' - it's great stuff, added to my favourites!. Being curious about it's origins, and unable to read the CD liner notes since they are in Japanese, I banged the title into Google and found my way to your http://www.akiraifukube.org/oberture_festiva.htm page - very useful info!


The link you went to is still available, obviously, but I have removed it from what in now my main site as I am going to add more refined information about the piece into the biography section of the site when the time comes.

I have been told that the title Sa Bago Filipinas means something like "A Gift to the Philippines" in Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines. Some of the thematic material in this work comes from another martial piece Ifukube was writing but likely abandoned called Marche Triomphale.

When the Japanese conquered various Asian nations during the Second World War, the conquerors considered their agressive actions to be "liberations" of those countries from the influence of the white man. When a nation was take over, the Japanese government engaged its nation's composers to write a piece of music to celebrate the "liberation."

A composer named Shiro Fukai was hired to write a piece for Burma. Ifukube himself wrote two such pieces, a tone poem called The Arctic Forest for Manchuria (this was written in 1944, over a decade after Manchuria was first taken...better late than never, I guess) and Sa Sa Bago Filipinas, itself completed in late 1943.

The piece has very martial moment, appropriately, and interestingly requires two pianos. The middle section is classic Ifukube melancholia influenced by the isolation of living in the wooded north. No, the wooded north does not have much to do with a tropic locale such as the Philippines, but Hokkaido's (northern Japan) influence really never left his creative process.

I am glad that you enjoyed listening to it!


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Tapkaara said:


> If you have it, I'd love to read your comments on it.


I've written some short comments on the two Ifukube discs I actually own *Here*, I might not be the keenest of devotees but it has sparked enough interest in me to think about springing for the 8CD box of his oeuvre, I have an order in the works at HMV.co.jp, and if they have it I think I'll cram it on top!

/ptr


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

ptr said:


> I've written some short comments on the two Ifukube discs I actually own *Here*, I might not be the keenest of devotees but it has sparked enough interest in me to think about springing for the 8CD box of his oeuvre, I have an order in the works at HMV.co.jp, and if they have it I think I'll cram it on top!
> 
> /ptr


Ptr,

First of all, you couldn't possible offend me if you are not as enthusiastic about the music I love. Even if you are downright scathing in your comments, I happen to realize that music is a matter of taste and no two people have the same taste!

Sinfonia Tapkaara is one of Ifukube's most popular compositions. Whenever I have recommended it to someone, I have never had anyone tell me that they didn't like it. The Naxos disc you listened to gives a pretty good reading of the piece, but I find greater sensitivity and "understanding" (for lack of a better word) in the myriad Japanese performances available on disc. The only problem is that they can often be a little hard to find and, if you do find them, they have to be ordered from Japan at a usually hefty price. Yablonsky's Russian forces, however, give a very good first go at music that I am sure was very unfamiliar to them.

The recording on that same disc of Ritmica Ostinata is, without doubt, the most dull recording of the work ever made.I simply cannot endorse it and I feel bad that you heard THAT recording first. Do a YouTube search for that piece and you should find any number of better recordings.

Symphonic Fantasia no. 1, like Sinfornia Tapkaara, gets a serviceable recording but, again, the Japanese do it better. I stress that this music had to have been unknown territory for the Russians and they did the best the could. Sometimes, their results are quite good, but one gets the feeling that the music is a little alien to them.

I actually love the performance of Ballata Sinfonica (which may be my preferred piece of the 4 you heard but, really, I love them all). The performance is very good as it is led by Junichi Hirokami, a former student of Ifukube and a specialist in his music. My only quibble is the sound on this early BIS recording is a little distant and even cavernous at times. had the performance been better recorded, I feel that Ballata would have been given its greater due.

You mentioned that the music sometimes sounds like it doesn't reach its potential. I am not exactly sure what you mean by that and I'd like to know more. One thing to note is that Ifukube was an anti-Romantic and he once described his style as neoclassical or even neobaroque. There is a certain and purposeful simplicity in his music; I find this to be very much in line with a more general Japanese aesthetic. In the Japanese arts, be it visual or written, there is a certain sparseness. That is, only the essential elements are presented and nothing else. That does not mean the art in question cannot be rich in details...it often is...but there is never anything superfluous. Ifukube wrote music, I feel, in a way that is very much in line with this Japanese aesthetic and those used to Western composers often feel a little befuddled by his sound. He once thought that his music would not go over well in America as they would not understand his style. Of course, his music is moderately popular everywhere in the world where people know who is is and what he has written. I am sure this came as a surprise to him.

Anyway, that is my take on his style. Regardless of my explanation, if you still find something lacking in him, I respect your opinion and I appreciate that you took the time to participate in the discussion!


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Tapkaara said:


> First of all, you couldn't possible offend me if you are not as enthusiastic about the music I love. Even if you are downright scathing in your comments, I happen to realize that music is a matter of taste and no two people have the same taste!


My comment was more tongue-in-cheek wink, wink not so serious cause music appreciation is personal!  You make an good advocate for Ifukube!



> I actually love the performance of Ballata Sinfonica (which may be my preferred piece of the 4 you heard but, really, I love them all). The performance is very good as it is led by Junichi Hirokami, a former student of Ifukube and a specialist in his music. My only quibble is the sound on this early BIS recording is a little distant and even cavernous at times. had the performance been better recorded, I feel that Ballata would have been given its greater due.


I think that the Ballata can grow on me! I actually prefer that early BIS sound to what they produce today. To close and detailed recording always loose out on the music, hence I music prefer the sound of f.x. Decca of old days!



> You mentioned that the music sometimes sounds like it doesn't reach its potential.


Neither do I, well at least not completely, sometimes music can leave us with a feeling of unfulfilledness without us understanding why this feeling occurs! One component could be that my ear search for something that is not there, I understand that many non-western composer often shun away from using an idiom that like Bartók is very influenced by folksy tunes (local material), perhaps what I am not finding is that strong (stronger) local component(?), it is like I'm not (yet) hearing a very personal voice and that may be because of lack of exposure or that my experience from other music influences how I value/hear his music! I hear Japonese components in these four works, but perhaps feel that he could use them more effective... (I'm fumbling!)



> Anyway, that is my take on his style. Regardless of my explanation, if you still find something lacking in him, I respect your opinion and I appreciate that you took the time to participate in the discussion!


I have a very open relationship with/to music, I don't believe in absolutes, but rather feel that the journey is more important then achieving the ultimate goal. So regardless what my findings may be in the long run, this is my kind of experience!

/ptr


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

ptr said:


> Neither do I, well at least not completely, sometimes music can leave us with a feeling of unfulfilledness without us understanding why this feeling occurs! One component could be that my ear search for something that is not there, I understand that many non-western composer often shun away from using an idiom that like Bartók is very influenced by folksy tunes (local material), perhaps what I am not finding is that strong (stronger) local component(?), it is like I'm not (yet) hearing a very personal voice and that may be because of lack of exposure or that my experience from other music influences how I value/hear his music! I hear Japonese components in these four works, but perhaps feel that he could use them more effective... (I'm fumbling!)


This is a very interesting comment. I seem to recall having a similar conversation with someone about this some time ago.

It is often said that Ifukube writes oriental music on occidental instruments, that he is East meets West, etc. This is very true, actually. However, just how "Japanese" does it really sound?

Ifukube's approach to writing "Japanese" music is not simple imitation or facsimile. In other words, he won't take a pentatonic scale and write something that sounds stereotypically Japanese in order to create a superficial...and artificial...Japanese feeling. (A good example of this is how Puccini uses pentatonic motifs in Turandot. More than sounding like anything authentically Chinese or Asian, it sounds a rather hackneyed imitation. Despite the fact that it sounds more made-up than authentic, we in in the West automatically identify music that sounds like that as "Asian," we we are given that feeling of "Asian atmosphere.")

Ifukube does not simply copy a Japanese aesthetic on a superficial level. It is more like he has internalized it and it informs his creativity on a more profound level. He does not write "Japanese" music from the outside in, he writes it from the inside out.

Having said that, the tonal character may not always sound "Japanese" even to a more astute ear. One possible reason for this is that the two primary musics that influenced him are very regionally specific: the folk music from Aomori (the northern most region of Honshu, the Japanese "mainland") and the folk music of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan's northern most island where Ifukube grew up.

In Ifukube's day, many "mainland" Japanese trekked to Hokkaido to find work. many of the "mainlanders" came from Aomori because it was geographically closest to Hokkaido. Thus, many of the people living in Hokkaido at the time, especially in the rural areas, were natives from Aomori. They brought with them there special types of folk music and the young composer-to-be got earfuls of this music.

And he certainly heard much Ainu music, with its tribal chanting and strange rhythms.

Sinfonia Tapkaara is influenced heavily by the Ainu aesthetic. So, if you find this piece doesn't sound innately Japanese, that could be because it is more Ainu than anything!

Ballata Sinfonica, rather, is very Japanese to me. When it was first performed in the 1940s, a Japanese music critic stated that the second movement of the piece reminded him of the koto. This is a very good observation. I once had the chance to pluck a koto and I was excited to see I could play the main theme of the second movement very easily on this instrument. Though when you hear the music, it may not immediately stike you as "this is koto music for an orchestra!" The Japanese sound is there, but it's buried a little more deeply then you might think.

Food for thought!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

For those even remotely interested...which is likely nobody...I have recently finished the third part of my on-going bio of Ifukube at my website. You can check it out here.

http://akiraifukube.org/biography_part_three.htm

Although this is not a book, it can be thought of as an authorized biography as I have support form the late composer's family. This section even havs two never-before-published photos.


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## Kleinzeit (May 15, 2013)

No no, not nobody, Kalervon poika-- I too like what I know of Ifukube! Nice setup on the website. Bookmarked. Kiitos!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Kleinzeit said:


> No no, not nobody, Kalervon poika-- I too like what I know of Ifukube! Nice setup on the website. Bookmarked. Kiitos!


Ah, I've got one!

Thank you VERY MUCH for not only taking the time to look but also to bookmark. It's a work iin progress so do be sure to check back with it from time to time.



What Ifukube works do you know of?

And thanks for the clever Kullervo reference!


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## Kleinzeit (May 15, 2013)

Well, it's your avatar ...I've only got this:









and I was a kaiju kid so I spent my childhood marinating in his sound!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Kleinzeit said:


> Well, it's your avatar ...I've only got this:
> 
> View attachment 19832
> 
> ...


A kaiju kid? Well, this is off to a great start...

The Naxos recording ain't bad, I do not like the performance of Ritmica Ostinata. Too rounded and tame.


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## Kleinzeit (May 15, 2013)

Oh, even I can tell, with no other comparison. A sense maybe of Russian-Japanese freudenschaft, like the film Derzu Usala. 

But you take what you got. Like kaiju: a window into an ancient Japanese unconscious or dreamworld. On the surface it's as shoddy & ridiculous as a dream. But like the ocean, that's just the top of it. There's lobsters below, perhaps the moon itself.


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