“Sun Rises” Highlights 4《Piano Concert at Caudan Arts Centre》
2022/9/8
The last piano concert by internationally acclaimed Japanese composer-pianist Mr. HIRAI Motoki was held at the Caudan Arts Centre in Port Louis on Wednesday 31st August 2022.
The first part of the concert focused on Japanese culture and its casual interaction with Mauritian culture. It started with the National Anthem of The Republic of Mauritius (arranged for piano solo by Mr. HIRAI), followed by the world première of his new commissioned work ‘Haiku on Mauritius’ (2022), inspired by Mauritian poet Anita Bacha’s Haiku anthology ‘Pink Moon’ (2022). Haiku is a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.
Mr. HIRAI also performed much-acclaimed his own composition ‘Scenes from a Native Land’ (Fantasie-Japonaise) (2005) with the Cutting Edge Kirié artworks by Mr. KUBO Shu, bringing the audience in the scenery of beautiful Japan.
The Island Voices Choir then gave a surprise performance of ‘Nara-yama’ and ‘Yurikago (Craddle Song)’ composed by Mr. HIRAI’s grandfather HIRAI Kozaburo accompanied by Mr. HIRAI at the piano, in addition to the famous Mauritian song ‘Sant Lamour’ by Kaya with traditional Ravann drum.
The first half of the programme concluded with a cultural and educational programme ‘The World of Japanese Folklore and Picture Books - brought to life through reading and music’ which Mr. HIRAI, as an artistic director and composer, has been promoting worldwide since 2007. ‘The Cat Who Lived a Million Times’, a famous Japanese children’s picture book by Ms. SANO Yōko with Mr. HIRAI’s music, was beautifully read in Mauritian Creole, with the composer himself at the piano which were warmly received by Mauritian audience.
In the second half of the concert, the audience had an opportunity to listen to classical masterpieces by composers including J.S.Bach, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and Grieg performed by Mr. HIRAI to great critical acclaim.
The Ambassador KAWAGUCHI Shuichiro expressed “As a Ambassador of Japan to Mauritius, my goal is to weave a tapestry of similar events to celebrate our culture and people-to-people ties. With this musical event, I strongly hope each note will echo for a long time in the heart of the people of Mauritius”.
The first part of the concert focused on Japanese culture and its casual interaction with Mauritian culture. It started with the National Anthem of The Republic of Mauritius (arranged for piano solo by Mr. HIRAI), followed by the world première of his new commissioned work ‘Haiku on Mauritius’ (2022), inspired by Mauritian poet Anita Bacha’s Haiku anthology ‘Pink Moon’ (2022). Haiku is a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.
Mr. HIRAI also performed much-acclaimed his own composition ‘Scenes from a Native Land’ (Fantasie-Japonaise) (2005) with the Cutting Edge Kirié artworks by Mr. KUBO Shu, bringing the audience in the scenery of beautiful Japan.
The Island Voices Choir then gave a surprise performance of ‘Nara-yama’ and ‘Yurikago (Craddle Song)’ composed by Mr. HIRAI’s grandfather HIRAI Kozaburo accompanied by Mr. HIRAI at the piano, in addition to the famous Mauritian song ‘Sant Lamour’ by Kaya with traditional Ravann drum.
The first half of the programme concluded with a cultural and educational programme ‘The World of Japanese Folklore and Picture Books - brought to life through reading and music’ which Mr. HIRAI, as an artistic director and composer, has been promoting worldwide since 2007. ‘The Cat Who Lived a Million Times’, a famous Japanese children’s picture book by Ms. SANO Yōko with Mr. HIRAI’s music, was beautifully read in Mauritian Creole, with the composer himself at the piano which were warmly received by Mauritian audience.
In the second half of the concert, the audience had an opportunity to listen to classical masterpieces by composers including J.S.Bach, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and Grieg performed by Mr. HIRAI to great critical acclaim.
The Ambassador KAWAGUCHI Shuichiro expressed “As a Ambassador of Japan to Mauritius, my goal is to weave a tapestry of similar events to celebrate our culture and people-to-people ties. With this musical event, I strongly hope each note will echo for a long time in the heart of the people of Mauritius”.