Takashi Yoshimatsu: Piano Works for the Left Hand

Featuring

Yumiko Oshima-Ryan
Takashi Yoshimatsu

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Composer's Artistic Vision

The composer Takashi Yoshimatsu intends for these pieces, written for the injured Izumi Tateno, to inspire strength to overcome obstacles and convey a powerful message of hope.

Cultural Impact

Yoshimatsu's works break the boundaries of traditional Japanese music, like Gagaku, and expand the notion that J-Pop encompasses a wide range of styles and influences.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Yoshimatsu's piano works for the left hand represent a revival of lyricism using tonal melody and harmony, rejecting the atonal music that dominated modern Japanese composition in the 1970s.

Composer Biography

Takashi Yoshimatsu, the composer, taught himself composition while playing in a jazz and rock group, and was strongly influenced by progressive rock.

Composition History

Yoshimatsu composed these left-hand piano works for pianist Izumi Tateno, who suffered a cerebral haemorrhage on stage in 2002 and lost the use of his right hand.

Performer Biography

Yumiko Oshima-Ryan, the pianist on this album, is a professor of music at Gustavus Adolphus College and has incorporated contemporary Japanese piano works into her repertoire since 1995.