Akira Nishimura Overview

In the new wave of Japanese contemporary music, Akira Nishimura is the front-runner for the "heterophonic concept." Using droning melodic variations, Nishimura creates a spacious kind of zen spikiness that can either calm the soul or mystify the mind. Nishimura exhibits... [more]

In the new wave of Japanese contemporary music, Akira Nishimura is the front-runner for the "heterophonic concept." Using droning melodic variations, Nishimura creates a spacious kind of zen spikiness that can either calm the soul or mystify the mind. Nishimura exhibits a particular concern with the spiritual, titling his works with abstract noun combinations such as "Silence of Light" and "Poem of Water." In "Canticles of Light," a 1996 recording with the Tokyo Symphony (where Nishimura was the composer-in-residence), references to mother nature and inner space are woven through the piece. The music itself is meditative, and subtly toned. Pianos and strings act not as solo instruments but as a vibrational base from which the orchestra surges. Deep sounds sink into an exploration of the nuances of traditional Buddhist "shomyo" chanting, bells and gongs, and conga drums. Out this base comes the heterophonic concept for which Nishimura is famous. He experiments with Gagaku, the traditional Japanese court music that features a central theme wrapped in variations. In the three-movement work "Heterophony," the voice of the theme drops out completely at some points, leaving the variational voices to carry on. By synthesizing traditional Japanese forms with rich Indian rhythms and Western instrumentation, Nishimura has positioned himself as a champion of pan-Asian aesthetics. This hybridization seems to have struck an international chord: the Kronos Quartet, which has worked with him for years but has yet to record one of his works, recently commissioned a Nishimura piece. Meanwhile Nishimura has attracted attention from the New York Times, has become a cult fave on college radio stations, and has been included in Western music festivals (particularly in Australia). [show less]