Lounge
May 11, 2015
Ryuichi Sakamoto Piano Tour Diary | A photo from April 15, 2009
Day 29 of the Tour | A Snapshot from April 15, 2009
Mid-April, following the cherry blossoms north. This is a snapshot from Ryuichi Sakamoto's first Japan piano tour in four years, which began with a performance in Tokyo on March 18 and concludes with the final concert at Showa Women's University Hitomi Memorial Hall on April 29 (Wednesday).
Ryuichi Sakamoto Playing the Piano 2009
Concert at Niigata Prefectural Civic Center on Wednesday, April 15
Text by Rurihiko Hara
The Professor chatting with Terada-kun, who handles the MIDI system operations, just before the performance.
The Ryuichi Sakamoto Playing The Piano 2009 tour is now one-third of the way through.
Today's venue is Niigata, a prefecture renowned for its delicious rice.
The venue is the Niigata Prefectural Civic Center. It's a truly stylish hall.
The setlist for today began with recently composed pieces such as 'Perspective,' '1919,' and 'High Heels.'
The order of the songs allowed us to immerse ourselves in the Professor's music from a new perspective, with 'aqua,' often played towards the end, appearing early in the program.
Still, 'hibari' is such a beautiful piece. It's a song you could listen to forever.
The subtle shifts in the phrases played on two pianos create a unique resonance.
By listening intently to this, one can naturally perceive something deeper.
According to the Professor, 'hibari' is inspired by the 'lark' that appears at the beginning of Natsume Soseki's novel, *Grass Pillow*.
You don't know where it's singing, but you can hear only the lark's voice.
That voice serves as a trigger, leading into the unique 'reverie' described in *Grass Pillow*. (Please do check it out!)
And so, 'hibari' opens *out of noise* and this concert.
After the Niigata performance, the Professor headed off for an exquisite 'wild vegetable feast'!
Ryuichi Sakamoto CD Single 'nord', Now Available Exclusively in Hokkaido
Ryuichi Sakamoto, currently on his "Ryuichi Sakamoto Playing the Piano 2009" tour—his first in four years, in conjunction with the release of his new album *out of noise*—released the area-limited CD single 'nord' on April 15, available only in Hokkaido.
This track, familiar to those in Hokkaido, was used as the TV commercial song for Hokuren (Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives) starting in June 2008 and is not included on the album.
To commemorate the release of this single, a special feature on 'nord' has launched on commmonsmart!
commmons
