Toho

Viola Space in Tokyo is one of the world’s most important musical festivals dedicated to the viola and the music composed for it. Founded by Nobuko Imai – well-known to BIS followers as well as to lovers of the viola – it celebrates its 10th anniversary, and BIS was invited to document some of the 150 works that have been performed over the years. The program spans over more than 70 years, and the list of composer includes Schnittke, Per Nørgård, Penderecki and Oedoen Partos. Nobuko Imai herself performs two of the most exciting works on the two discs: György Ligeti’s Sonata for Viola Solo and Toshio Hosokawa’s Voyage VI for Viola and Strings. This last piece was composed only last year, and is dedicated Nobuko Imai. It forms part of a series of concertos “in which the soloist symbolizes man while the ensemble represents the universe, nature and world that surrounds us within and without”, in the composer’s own description. Among these a modern classic such as György Kurtág’s Hommage à R. Sch. – in which violist Junji Suganuma is joined by a clarinet and a piano – may be mentioned, as well as Viola, Viola, a constantly surprising duo by George Benjamin.

Kapela pod názvom Alter Ego (ex-Flare) funguje od jari 2008. Kapela má ku dnešnému dátumu t.j. február 2014 na svedomí vyše 60 skladieb, z toho cca 15 coververzií známych interprétov, ako napríklad Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Motorhead… Všetky skladby sú anglicky spievané. Herný štýl sa vracia do 70/80-tych rokov,kedy boli na výslní a zároveň vznikali skvelé rockové kapely.

The debut major label album by the up-and-coming violinist Ryota Azuma, who played the violin for Hajime Aono, the main character in the TV anime "Blue Orchestra.

So, think you know all there is to know about the Heisei and Millennium Godzilla and Gamera films? Think you couldn’t possibly learn anything new about them?