WORK OF THE WEEK – TORU TAKEMITSU: NOSTALGHIA

5 Sep 2022

Water and mist: Nostalgia by Toru Takemitsu combines themes of loss of home and longing with these blurred images of nature. The violin concerto will be staged for the first time in Slovakia on the 8th of September under the musical direction of Daniel Raiskin. Performed by the Slovenská Filharmónia with violinist Daishin Kashimoto, this concert is in collaboration with the Japanese embassy.

The name of the piece Nostalgia is derived from the movie of the same name by Andrei Tarkovsky, an homage to the late director shortly after his untimely death. On a similar note to the soviet-Italian movie, the piece contains themes of aspiration: unlike many languages, the word “nostalgia” in Russian as well as in Italian describes the desire for a place or persons rather than the reminiscence of a past time.

IN MEMORY OF ANDREI TARKOVSKIJ

TORU TAKEMITSUS NOSTALGHIA

The string orchestra paints shimmering pictures of water and mist while the solo violin sways woefully above. Together the instruments are the embodiment of unapologetic nature, a cold and ambiguous tone creating an unbending sense of solitude. The movie Nostalgia follows a biographer, who treads the path of a Russian painter to Rome. On this journey he endures feelings of longing for his home, seemingly soul-destroying and demoralising. This could be interpreted in a biographical sense regarding Tarkovsky — who shot the movie in Italy and never returned to his Russian homeland until he died in political exile shortly after — but also Takemitsu, who as a Japanese composer under European influence felt a discrepancy between his descent and his œuvre.

When I decided to be a composer, it was just after the Second World War. At that time, I hated everything from Japan because of the war. During the war, we had very sad times, especially musically. The Japanese government said very stupid ideas, and mostly never permitted us to listen to Western music. So, I was really thirsty to listen to Western music. Then, just after the war, I decided to be a composer, but I wanted to be a Western composer. I didn’t like all the Japanese traditions. I didn’t know anything, and I didn’t want to study my own traditional music. But ten years later, after I had studied Western music, I have realised the importance of my own traditions. I don’t know whether I am a good Japanese composer or a bad Japanese composer, but I am a Japanese composer. Toru Takemitsu

Takemitsu wrote over 100 scores and thus has earnt his place within the realms of the film music greats. Nostalgia however, goes beyond the film music genre. It’s an engagement in the themes and feelings of a movie, whilst maintaining certain independence, allowing the composer to bridge the gap between the pursuit of film music and paying tribute to the director.

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