PIANO SONATA No.1 “Quinta Essentia”, pour piano（2025）

With its title redolent of the classical era, this Piano Sonata No. 1 follows on from my Symphony No. 1 ‘Spiritus’ and my String Quartet No. 1 ‘Floating Phase’. I composed it with the idea that a form of self-expression situated within the bounds of the classical tripartite formal dynamic of motion, stasis and motion might open up a clear path to something entirely new.
The word ‘quintessence’ in medieval cosmology used to refer to the ‘aether’, the fifth element that fills the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. The existence of this element is not recognised by modern science, but the concept itself provided me with inspiration for composing this piece.
The work consists of three movements, I. Aqua vitae, II. Aether, III. Chymia, this last word referring to the methods of alchemy. The title of each movement is thus bound up with the medieval concept of quintessence.
The work is dedicated to the pianist Takuya Ōkura who gave it its first performance.