Concert to Commemorate 130th Anniversary of Composer Federico Monpau's Birth Winds of Catalonia" will be performed in Tokyo on Tuesday, November 21 at the Lutheran Ichigaya Hall. The concert will be held at the Lutheran Ichigaya Hall in Tokyo on November 21 (Tue). ＝A chance encounter between Catalan culture and contemporary Japan.

The "Winds of Catalonia" Executive Committee (located in Suginami-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Takahiro Isomura) will hold a concert commemorating the 130th anniversary of the birth of Catalan composer Federico Monpau on November 21, 2023, at the Lutheran Ichigaya Hall in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. The performance will be held at Lutheran Ichigaya Hall (Shinjuku, Tokyo) on November 21, 2023.

Winds of Catalonia" Concert Commemorating the 130th Anniversary of Federico Monpau's Birth

Winds of Catalonia" official page: https://minorinome.com/mompouconcert/

The year 2023 marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of Barcelona-born composer Federico Mompou. This concert will be held in collaboration with the Frederic Monpou Foundation (Barcelona, Spain) on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of Monpou's birth, and will mainly feature Monpou's works arranged by Japanese composers and performances by Japanese composers inspired by these works. By performing these works by Japanese performers, the festival will bring to the people of Japan the works of Mompou, as well as the perspective of "encounter(*) between Catalan culture and contemporary Japan".

(*)KAIKOU: An unexpected encounter; a chance encounter

About Federico Monpou

Federico Mompou (1893-1987, Barcelona, Spain) is particularly renowned as a composer of short pieces, short improvisations that have been described as "delicate," "introspective," and "serene. His style was influenced by modern French music, particularly impressionism, and his musical language includes minimalist development, a very small formal framework, and modern harmonic techniques. Although some of his works incorporate folk songs from his native Catalonia, his music has a universality that can be heard throughout the world. Most of his works are piano pieces, with a few vocal pieces and a few guitar pieces.

Composer Federico Mompou

About "Winds of Catalonia

The commemorative concert "Winds of Catalonia" will center on "Songs and Dances," a series of seven pieces commissioned by world-renowned guitarist Ichiro Suzuki from the late composer Kishu Hirayoshi and arranged for guitar and string quartet, which are representative of Mompou's works, and "Winds of Catalonia," composed by Hirayoshi. The program also includes "Children's Scene" arranged for string quartet by up-and-coming composer Kunio Matsuzaki (*The character for "Saki" is correctly spelled Tatsusaki), "High" arranged for violin and guitar by Shinichiro Tokunaga, who will participate on guitar, and "Compostela Suite," an original guitar work by Montpauw. The program is composed of works such as "High" arranged for violin and guitar by Shinichiro Tokunaga, who will participate on guitar. The purpose of this program is to express not only the regionality and uniqueness of Montpou's music, but also its expansion, to deepen Japanese understanding of Montpou and his homeland, Catalonia, and to contribute to a true international exchange.

*Note that this will be the world premiere of "Songs and Dances" No. 7 (original No. 14), edited by Hirakichi.

Composer: The late Taisyu Hirakichi

<Music to be performed

(1)F. Montpauw / Arr. by Kunio Matsuzaki "Children's Scene" (String Quartet)

(2)F. Montpauw / Arr. by Shin-ichiro Tokunaga, "High" (Violin, Guitar)

(3)F. Mompou, "Compostela Suite" (Guitar)

(4)Seven "Songs and Dances" arranged by F. Mompou/Kishu Hirayoshi (guitar, string quartet)

(5)Kishu Hirayoshi "Catalonian Wind" (guitar, string quartet)

<Performers

Shinichiro Tokunaga (guitar), Janne Tateno (violin), Maki Kinoshita (violin)

Miho Nakata (viola) / Hibiki Sato (cello)

From left: Shinichiro Tokunaga (guitar), Janne Tateno (violin), Maki Kinoshita (violin)

From left: Miho Nakata (viola), Hibiki Sato (cello)

■Performance Outline

Name of the performance: "Winds of Catalonia" in commemoration of the 130th anniversary of Federico Monpau's birth

<Tokyo Performance

Date ： Tuesday, November 21, 2023 (Concert begins at 19:00) (Doors open at 18:30)

Venue: Lutheran Ichigaya Hall

Location: 1-1 Ichigaya-Sadoharacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

URL : https://www.l-i-c.com/hall/

Price: Adults 4,000 yen / Students 2,500 yen (both tax included)

＜Kyoto Performance

Date: Sunday, October 29, 2023, 15:00 (doors open at 14:30)

Venue: Oe Noh Theater

＜Kobe Performance

Date: Monday, October 30, 2023 (Concert begins at 14:00) (Doors open at 13:30)

Venue: Former Guggenheim residence

*For details of the "Kyoto Performance" and "Kobe Performance," please see the official page.

■Organizer's Profile

Organizer: "Winds of Catalonia" Executive Committee

Location: 2-15-12-313 Minami Ogikubo, Suginami-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Takahiro Isomura, Executive Committee Chairman

Planning: Minori no Me

Production: Minori no Me, ARTRANDOM

URL ： https://minorinome.com/mompouconcert/

Background of the "Winds of Catalonia" project

The majority of Federico Monpou's works are piano pieces and songs, so he is not well known to the general public. However, his expression based on deep introspection while rooted in Catalan culture has a universality that connects with people all over the world. Since many of the works to be performed in this concert are arrangements of Montpauw's original works for chamber music, we have planned the commemorative concert "Winds of Catalonia" as a great opportunity for people other than lovers of piano music and songs to understand the appeal and universality of Montpauw's compositions.

The piece by Hirayoshi Kishu, which forms the core of the works to be performed in this concert, is a quintet with guitar and string quartet, an extremely rare composition, and we believe that it is an extremely significant opportunity to broaden the musical possibilities for those who attend the concert.

The concert format is a place of communication where performers and audiences can directly interact through realistic performances, and the synergy between a deep understanding of Western culture's classical music works and the high performance skills of the Japanese who reproduce them will speak to the audience's hearts and sublimate into a true international exchange. This is a true international exchange. This performance aims not only to provide enjoyment of music, but also to serve as a guidepost for true international exchange in the world.

About the future

The committee has changed its name and will continue to plan and produce concerts in order to bring warmth and connection back to the world. There are many unknown but wonderful works of art in the world. We believe that there is always value in works that have been forgotten or ignored for various reasons, and that the world will be a richer place when people understand the diversity of cultures. With this belief, we will continue to create many opportunities for these works to be performed and appreciated by people.