Toshio Hosokawa's piano concerto 'Lotus under the moonlight' was commissioned by Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and was written in commemoration of Mozart Year, 2006, using Mozart's Piano Concerto in A major, KV 488, as a theme.
Performer Biography
Stefan Dohr, the French horn soloist, has been the principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic since 1993 and has had several contemporary pieces composed for him, including Toshio Hosokawa's 'Moment of Blossoming'.
Compositional Technique
The solo cello part in Toshio Hosokawa's 'Chant' is influenced by Shômyô, the ceremonial music of Japanese Buddhism, specifically the characteristic singing of the Tendai and Shingon sects.
Composition History
Toshio Hosokawa's Horn Concerto 'Moment of Blossoming' was jointly commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, and the Barbican Centre of London.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Toshio Hosokawa, the composer, often uses the theme of 'lotus' or 'blossoming' in his works, viewing the lotus as a symbol of human blossoming from within and connection to the cosmos.
Compositional Technique
In his concertos, Toshio Hosokawa frequently imagines the solo instrument as a 'flower' or 'human being' and the orchestra as nature or the cosmos.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Toshio Hosokawa's interest in the 'flower' theme is influenced by his grandfather, an ikebana master (Japanese art of flower arranging), and the traditional Japanese theatre form Noh, where the best performer is considered a 'flower'.
