Dai Fujikura
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
composer
of contemporary classical music
.
in the UK, his adopted home. His initial ambition was to compose music for cinema. Studying the music of Pierre Boulez
, György Ligeti
and Tōru Takemitsu
at Trinity College of Music
provoked a gestalt shift: Dai became an aspiring contemporary composer, whose extensive knowledge of cinematography gave his musical a fresh, individual voice. Imagining sounds as image produced music with considerable dramatic structure and strength. By the end of his second year he had already won the Serocki International Composers Competition. Before graduating, Dai's music had been broadcast on many European radio stations, won several other prizes, and had been performed by a list of illustrious ensembles and soloists including: Orkest de Volharding, the London Sinfonietta
, Colin Currie
and Harry Sparnaay
.
Despite this fortuitous start, and the strength of early works such as Frozen Heat, Cari4nics and Eternal Escape, Dai wanted to develop his technique. A visit to Darmstadt
, where he first heard Japanese traditional music
, and a Masters with Edwin Roxburgh
at the Royal College of Music
helped Dai embrace this musical heritage, composing works like Okeanos Breeze for a mix of Japanese and Western Instruments. Whilst at the RCM he was also mentored by Peter Eotvos
, writing Fifth Station for the London Sinfonietta
.
This period denotes an important phase in the development of Dai’s music. He experiments with spatial separation, a technique where he breaks up the traditional seating of the orchestra, sometimes placing them around the auditorium for both aural and dramatic effect. The first orchestral work using this technique was Calling Timbuktu (2nd prize Takemitsu Competition 2003) has been performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestras. Also he starts to experiment with video, writing teki and moromoro for solo piano and film. Research into spatial separation, and cinematographic musical structures continued at Kings College London under George Benjamin
, leading to a PhD.
A portrait concert by the Philharmonia Orchestra
(part of the RFH Music of Today series with Martyn Brabbins), retrospectives in New York and Chicago, work with Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wein, and a subsequent major commission for Vast Ocean at Donaueshingen Music Days with Eotvos launched Dai as a major new voice of the European avant-garde.
Pierre Boulez, with whom he first worked whilst writing Stream State for Orchestra (Premiered at the Lucerne Festival, and receiving five other performances in 2006 alone) has been a major supporter of his work: Dai was one of only two people asked to write a piece for the official Boulez 80th birthday celebrations at Cite de la Musique (Code 80). Subsequent commissions include two pieces for Ensemble Intercontemperain, (one celebrating their 30th birthday), a new work for twelve percussionists for the 2006 Lucerne Festival, a major orchestral and electronic work commissioned by IRCAM and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and a piano concerto for Noriko Ogawa and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Young Composers' Award (1998)
2nd prize in the Toru Takemitsu Award (2003)
The Royal Philharmonic Composition Prize (2004)
Internationaler Wiener Composition Prize (the Claudio Abbado composition award) in 2005
The Hindemith Prize (2007)
October 2005, Eötvös
conducted the world premiere of “Vast Ocean” for trombone, orchestra and live electronics.
September 2005, Pierre Boulez
conducted the world premiere of the Lucerne Festival Academy’s commission, “Stream State” for orchestra.
August 2006, BBC Proms debut, “Crushing Twister”,
2006, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
’s “Music Now” series.
Commissions and performances from Ensemble Modern
, ASKO and Nieuw Ensemble
, Ensemble Recherche, Klangforum Wien
, OKEANOS, the BBC Symphony Orchestra
, Peter Manning
Camerata, Spoleto Festival, Ensemble Intercontemporain
, International Contemporary Ensemble
, BIT20 Ensemble
, Vienna Radio Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic
, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
.
Biography
Dai Fujikura left home in Osaka at 15 and went to study at Dover CollegeDover College
Dover College is a co-educational independent school in Dover in southeast England. It was founded in 1871, and takes both day pupils and boarders....
in the UK, his adopted home. His initial ambition was to compose music for cinema. Studying the music of Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
and Tōru Takemitsu
Toru Takemitsu
was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
at Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
provoked a gestalt shift: Dai became an aspiring contemporary composer, whose extensive knowledge of cinematography gave his musical a fresh, individual voice. Imagining sounds as image produced music with considerable dramatic structure and strength. By the end of his second year he had already won the Serocki International Composers Competition. Before graduating, Dai's music had been broadcast on many European radio stations, won several other prizes, and had been performed by a list of illustrious ensembles and soloists including: Orkest de Volharding, the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, Colin Currie
Colin Currie
-Early Years:Colin Currie began his musical studies at the age of 5, going on to study at the Junior Department of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama from 1990-1994. There he studied percussion with Pamella Dow and piano with Sheila Desson, both of whom had an enormous influence on him...
and Harry Sparnaay
Harry Sparnaay
Harry Sparnaay is a noted Dutch bass clarinetist, composer, and teacher. He is the most well-known player of new music for the bass clarinet and has won the following: First Prize Gaudeamus Contest , Swedish Record Prize , Bulgarian Composers Union Award , Inaugural Sounds Australian Award ,...
.
Despite this fortuitous start, and the strength of early works such as Frozen Heat, Cari4nics and Eternal Escape, Dai wanted to develop his technique. A visit to Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, where he first heard Japanese traditional music
Traditional Japanese music
Traditional Japanese music is the term used to describe historical Japanese folk music, or traditional music.-Rhythm:One of the characteristics of traditional Japanese music is a sparse rhythm. It also doesn't have regular chords. In Japanese music, one cannot beat time with one's hands because...
, and a Masters with Edwin Roxburgh
Edwin Roxburgh
Edwin Roxburgh is an English composer, conductor and oboist.After playing oboe in the National Youth Orchestra, he won a double scholarship to study composition with Herbert Howells and oboe with Terence MacDonagh at the Royal College of Music. He also studied composition with Nadia Boulanger in...
at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
helped Dai embrace this musical heritage, composing works like Okeanos Breeze for a mix of Japanese and Western Instruments. Whilst at the RCM he was also mentored by Peter Eotvos
Peter Eötvös
Péter Eötvös is a Hungarian composer and conductor.Eötvös was born in Odorheiu Secuiesc/Székelyudvarhely, Szeklerland, Transylvania . He studied composition in Budapest and Cologne. From 1962, he composed for film in Hungary. Eötvös played regularly with the Stockhausen Ensemble between 1968 and...
, writing Fifth Station for the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
.
This period denotes an important phase in the development of Dai’s music. He experiments with spatial separation, a technique where he breaks up the traditional seating of the orchestra, sometimes placing them around the auditorium for both aural and dramatic effect. The first orchestral work using this technique was Calling Timbuktu (2nd prize Takemitsu Competition 2003) has been performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestras. Also he starts to experiment with video, writing teki and moromoro for solo piano and film. Research into spatial separation, and cinematographic musical structures continued at Kings College London under George Benjamin
George Benjamin (composer)
George William John Benjamin, CBE is a British composer of classical music. He is also a conductor, pianist and teacher....
, leading to a PhD.
A portrait concert by the Philharmonia Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
(part of the RFH Music of Today series with Martyn Brabbins), retrospectives in New York and Chicago, work with Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wein, and a subsequent major commission for Vast Ocean at Donaueshingen Music Days with Eotvos launched Dai as a major new voice of the European avant-garde.
Pierre Boulez, with whom he first worked whilst writing Stream State for Orchestra (Premiered at the Lucerne Festival, and receiving five other performances in 2006 alone) has been a major supporter of his work: Dai was one of only two people asked to write a piece for the official Boulez 80th birthday celebrations at Cite de la Musique (Code 80). Subsequent commissions include two pieces for Ensemble Intercontemperain, (one celebrating their 30th birthday), a new work for twelve percussionists for the 2006 Lucerne Festival, a major orchestral and electronic work commissioned by IRCAM and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and a piano concerto for Noriko Ogawa and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Prizes
Prizes:- 1st Prize in the Serocki International Composers' Competition (1998)The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Young Composers' Award (1998)
2nd prize in the Toru Takemitsu Award (2003)
The Royal Philharmonic Composition Prize (2004)
Internationaler Wiener Composition Prize (the Claudio Abbado composition award) in 2005
The Hindemith Prize (2007)
Performances
February 2004 “Fifth Station”, premiered by the London Sinfonietta, conducted by Martyn Brabbins.October 2005, Eötvös
Eotvos
Eötvös is an old spelling of the Hungarian word ötvös, meaning "gold- & silversmith".- Family name :Eötvös can refer to one of several Hungarian people:...
conducted the world premiere of “Vast Ocean” for trombone, orchestra and live electronics.
September 2005, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
conducted the world premiere of the Lucerne Festival Academy’s commission, “Stream State” for orchestra.
August 2006, BBC Proms debut, “Crushing Twister”,
2006, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
’s “Music Now” series.
Commissions and performances from Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries....
, ASKO and Nieuw Ensemble
Nieuw Ensemble
The Nieuw Ensemble was founded in 1980 in Amsterdam. It has a unique instrumental structure, using plucked instruments such as mandolin, guitar and harp in combination with wind, string and percussion. Ed Spanjaard has been the principal conductor since 1982...
, Ensemble Recherche, Klangforum Wien
Klangforum Wien
The Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music.Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no official principal conductor. Sylvain Cambreling is...
, OKEANOS, the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, Peter Manning
Peter Manning
Peter Manning FRSA is internationally respected as a British conductor and violinist.Manning's conducting career includes work with the Royal Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Edsberg Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Musica Vitae and the Soloists of The Royal...
Camerata, Spoleto Festival, Ensemble Intercontemporain
Ensemble InterContemporain
The Ensemble InterContemporain is a French chamber orchestra, based in Paris at the Cité de la musique and IRCAM, which specialises in contemporary classical music....
, International Contemporary Ensemble
International Contemporary Ensemble
The International Contemporary Ensemble is a contemporary classical music ensemble of thirty chamber musicians, including strings, woodwinds, piano, percussion, voice and composers, which enables great flexibility of programming...
, BIT20 Ensemble
BIT20 Ensemble
BIT20 Ensemble is a contemporary music ensemble from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1989 for the purpose of performing and advancing Norwegian and international art music....
, Vienna Radio Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic
New Japan Philharmonic
The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. Since 2003, its music director is Christian Arming....
, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
The claims to be the oldest classical orchestra in Japan, having been founded in Nagoya in 1911. It moved to Tokyo in 1938 and has some 166 members as of 2005....
.