close
Home > Matsudaira, Yoriaki > Blending

Matsudaira, Yoriaki : Blending

Work Overview

Music ID : 4437
Composition Year:1984 
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:Various works

Commentary (2)

Author : Hirano, Takatoshi

Last Updated: April 24, 2018
[Open]
Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

Composed in 1984 at the request of pianist Kayako Matsunaga, this piece was premiered at Matsunaga's debut recital. It is an attempt to "blend" the music of two composers, such as Stravinsky×Satie, or Bach×Xenakis. Matsudaira divided the 10-minute performance time specified by Matsunaga into 60 sections, each averaging 10 seconds. He envisioned 30 fragments and decided to use 27 of them based on probability calculations. He then prepared 27 pairs of composers and their corresponding 54 fragments, "blending" them by focusing on the sonic material of the composer on the left side of the pair and the rhythm of the composer on the right side. Regarding the selection of composers, Matsudaira stated, "I listed all famous composers regardless of personal preference," and their names are noted in the score. On the other hand, regarding the selection of fragments, he mentioned, "Some were transcribed after browsing through scores at a music store." Although the titles of the referenced pieces are not noted, some "masterpieces" like Schumann's Träumerei are recognizable upon first listen. Some fragments, including those by Xenakis, Denisov, and Bussotti, have been identified by Matsunaga. Contrary to its systematic conception, the unexpected stylistic "blending" results in a lighthearted sense of humor. Published by Sonic Arts.

Author : Hirano, Takatoshi

Last Updated: April 24, 2018
[Open]
Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

A piano piece commissioned by the pianist Kayako Matsunaga in 1984 and premiered in her debut recital, Blending is an attempt to ‘blend’ the music by pairs of composers such as Stravinsky and Satie, Bach and Xenakis, etc. Yori-Aki Matsudaira divides 10 minutes, the duration determined by Matsunaga, into 60 sections of 10 seconds in average. Then he estimates the number of fragments at 30, and decides to use 27 by calculation of probability. After preparing 27 pairs of composers and 54 fragments, he ‘blends’ them by using tone materials of the composer written to the left, and rhythms of the ones written to the right. Matsudaira says that he selected ‘all the famous composers, regardless of whether I like them or not’, and the names of the composers are written on the score. On the other hand, he says that some of the fragments were ‘jotted down when I dropped in at music stores,’ and the titles of the pieces which include such fragments are not indicated, though well-known ones like ‘Träumerei’ of Schumann can be easily detected. Matsunaga has identified the titles of the pieces of Xenakis, Denisov, Bussotti, etc. This ‘blending’ of disparate musical styles adds a touch of humor, despite the systematic control of the form. The score was published by Sonic Arts.

No videos available currently.  

Sheet Music

Scores List (0)

No scores registered.