Masaaki Hayakawa

Concerto

In this work, which consists of three movements, successful Japanese composer Masaaki Hayakawa uses elements of Japanese music: an accumulation of fourths as in some traditional Japanese songs in the first movement, and motifs of Japanese flute literature in the second one which is also a contest between marimba and timpani. The third movement, however, is a dance which is getting increasingly furious. In his preface, the composer states: Even though I used Japanese motifs, it was not my intention to create a specifically Japanese mood. I used the motifs as abstract ones and adopted European techniques to emphasize above all the joy of playing the marimba together with the orchestra.