Izumi Maekawa
前川 泉
Composer
WORKS
2025
«Rowing Through Eternity »
a cycle of 6 pieces for ensemble and electronics (2025)
1. Introduction ensemble, tape
2. The Sun I bass-flute, violin
3. The Sun II violoncello, piano
4. Herbst soprano, piano
5. Rowing Through Eternity oboe, ensemble, electronics
6. Ending soprano, percussions, tape
premiered: Parmida Soltani, oboe
Risa Matsushima, soprano
Maria Zwerschke, flute
Hanna-Maria Tikka, violin
Alice Uehara, violoncello
Matsuri Yoshida, Piano
Jonas Evenstad, Percussions
March 2025, HfMT Köln, Germany
— as the final exam/concert at the University
they are looking down through the glass bottom boats of heaven
as they row themselves slowly through eternity.
— “The Dead” by Billy CollinsDie Blätter fallen, fallen wie von weit.
Und in den Nächten fällt die schwere Erde.
Wir alle fallen. Diese Hand da fällt.
— “Herbst” by Rainer Maria RilkeForever – is composed of Nows –
‘Tis not a different time –
Except for Infiniteness –
And Latitude of Home –
— “Forever” by Emily Dickinson
2024
«Herbst »
for soprano and piano (2024)
premiered: Risa Matsushima and Yui Nakamoto
Sep. 2024, Daikanyama Church, Tokio, Japan
«Rowing Through Eternity »
for oboe and electronics (2024)
premiered: Peter Veale
electronics by Dong Zhou and Izumi Maekawa
Jun. 2024, HfMT Köln, Germany
«Porte-fenêtre 1914/2024 »
for trumpet, percussions, tape and video (2024)
premiered: Christian Sharpe and Juliette Serrié
Jan. 2024, HfMT Köln, Germanyvideo: Izumi Maekawa
“… space is one and the same from the horizon to the inside of my atelier room, and the passing boat lives in the same space as the familiar objects around me, and the window wall doesn't create two different worlds”
by Henri Matisse, about his paintings of French windows in Collioure.
2023
«Of Mice »
for ensemble (2023)
clarinet, accordion, percussions, guitar, 2 violins, cello & contrabasspremiered: ensemble from the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Yasuaki Itakura
Oct. 2023, NHK Studio Tokio, Japan
— at the Music Competition in Japan
... inspired by the short story "Of Mice and Men" by the American writer John Steinbeck...
«In Hot-water Spring »
for mixed-organ (2023)
premiered: Jana Stahl
Oct. 2023, St.Peter Köln, Germany
— at the Orgel-mixturen 2023 festival
«Towards the Green »
for trumpet, trombone and video (2023)
premiered: Musikfabrik — Marco Blaauw and Bruce Collings
Jun. 2023, HfMT Köln, Germany
©Musikfabrik
MONTAGSKONZERT – DAL BLU AL VERDE, Sep. 2024
«Flying in Clear »
for flute, clarinet and percussions (2023)
premiered: Mayu Sato, Maxime Echardour, Mathieu Steffanus
Apr. 2023, Montreuil, France
— in the concert by L’instant Donné
«A small, felicitous Space »
for ensemble (2020/23)
trumpet, percussions, piano, viola, contrabass and tapepremiered: musicians from the University
Jan. 2023, HfMT Köln
2022
«Train on the Island — flute ver. »
for alto-flute and percussions (2022)
premiered: Mayu Sato and Maxime Echardour
Nov. 2022, Montreuil, France
— in the concert by L’instant Donné
«runaway I — revised ver. »
for solo violin (2015/22)
premiered: Ayano Shigematsu
Nov. 2024, Freiburg, Germany
— in the concert by Kompass Ensemble
2021
«Train on the Island »
for tenor-recorder & percussions (2021)
premiered: Toshiya Suzuki and Tomoko Kasai
Sep 2021, Fukui, Japan
— at the 32nd Takefu International Music Festival
2020
«From the Spring to the Ocean »
for violoncello (2020)
premiered: Åsa Åkerberg
May 2020, PEAC Museum, Freiburg, Germany
— in the project Spotted: Japan by Ensemble Recherche
©Ensemble Recherche
Spotted: Japan, May. 2020
2019
«Self-Portrait as Rembrandt Laughing »
for bass-flute, bass-clarinet and violoncello (2019)
premiered: Mario Caroli, Nozomi Ueda and Tomoki Tai
Sep 2019, Fukui, Japan
— at the 30th Takefu International Music Festival
… based on ”Self-Portrait as Zeuxis Laughing", painted by a 17th-century painter Rembrandt.
Zeuxis is an ancient Greek legendary painter. He could paint so realistically that people believed the objects he depicted were real. He is said to have died laughing at the humorous way he painted an ugly old woman who asked him to depict her as a goddess.
In this self-portrait, the laughing artist is Rembrandt disguising himself as Zeuxis, and the person painted on the left is the old woman. Many of his self-portraits have objective self-expression. In this piece, he ridicules his vanity by painting himself as Zeuxis.
2018