SYMPHONY No.2 ＂Sakura＂（1994）

This symphony was composed for the SAKURA CONCERT HALL in Sakura City. The work was completed in February 1991 and performed by Tokyo Symphony Orchestra for the first time in 6th May 1991 with Mr. Naohiro Totsuka as a conductor. On 3rd November 1999, this was again performed by same orchestra and conductor after the revision of the fourth movement. This symphony has four movements with central motif passing through all the four. This is not a program music, but it has unconsciously overshadowed the landscape of Hokuso—northern part of Chiba prefecture where I have lived for years.
The first movement is the exposition. There are the slow second movement and rhythmic third movement between the first and the finale. The last movement is also the recapitulation of the first.
In the first movement, I tried to describe complex and dynamic transformation of orchestral sound, which could be compared to similar changes in human psychology in the modern society. The second movement is characterized by the melody and harmony, which reflect country scenery in Hokuso, especially peaceful tranquillity and endless stretch of the “Inbanuma” lake. The third movement is full of rhythm from jazz and rock to polyrhythm in Africa. But it is also blended with the melody of “warabeuta”, or traditional Japanese children’s songs, and blues. Any rhythmic sound of 20th century has been more or less influenced by the polyrhythm. The sound thus composed should represent a new rhythm or “beat” to be enjoyed by the young and contemporary Japanese. In the final movement, development and expansions of the theme come to the point of explosion. The brilliant frame of the sound and shining clouds under the sun gradually fade away as first movement is recapitulated.