Nishikawa
Ensemble at
la Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur
Montreal Bulletin February
2000
by Sandra Kadowaki
On Sat, Feb 12, the Nishikawa Ensemble performed
to an overflowing crowd at La Chapelle historique
du Bon-Pasteur. Extra seats were added so that
not one person was turned away, to the delight
of spectators.
Kohei Nishikawa and Hideko Nara also offered
a workshop on Fri, Feb 11 at the same venue. They
spoke about traditional Japanese musical instruments,
such as the different kinds of flutes and drums,
their role in traditional Japanese music and theater,
and demonstrated on the various instruments.
Japan's Takonojo Mochizuki, Gary Nagata of Toronto,
as well as Montreal's own Liu Fang and Patrick
Graham performed alongside Kohei Nishikawa and
pianist Hideko Nara. All six performers are solid
musicians in their own right, emotionally mature
interpreters of the music they were presenting.
Most fascinating was the tsuzumi, a type of hand-held
drums used in Noh and Kabuki theatre. Small in
size, it is supported on the player's shoulder
and regularly moistened with saliva to ensure
good sound. The music was punctuated with the
elastic quality of
the tsuzumi paired with the deeply spirited vocalizations
of Takinojo Mochizuki. For those who had never
seen this kind of performance, it was quite intriguing.
Flutist Kohei Nishikawa and pianist Hideko Nara
were relaxed while remaining polished and must
be congratulated for bringing together a unique
and talented group of musicians. Inspiring in
their musical delivery, the down-to-earth quality
of each of the ensemble's members was clearly
apparent to captivated listeners. The range of
music performed \from Quebecois composer Simon
Bertrand to traditional Japanese music, to long-time
Nishikawa collaborator, American David Loeb \was
a gift the audience could take home, a little
bit of warmth to brave our city's winter chill.
Nishikawa
Ensemble Canadian Tour 2001
Montreal
Bulletin February 2001
by Sandra Kadowaki
Last Tuesday, February 6
was a typical wintery Montreal evening-slushy,
sludgy, damp and windy to boot. Inside the Montreal
Arts Intercultural, or MAI Center on Jeanne-Mance
Street, however, the evening took on a spring-like
ambience with spectators warming up to the sounds
of the Nishikawa Ensemble. The 2001 ensemble fetures
flutist Kohei Nishikawa, Hideko Nara on piano,
percussionist Patrick Graham and Liu Fang on the
Chinese pipa and zheng.
As Montrealers were able
to hear firsthand at the Nishikawa Ensemble's
show last year, this group strives to explore
the limits of traditional forms of music, be it
Eastern, Western or from anywhere in between;
the ensemble's goals are ever-present-to cross
the boundaries between the ancient and the contemporary
with its global approach to music and sound.
The evening's program was
varied, starting with a suite of short pieces
with a definite connection to nature, a theme
that ran throughout the evening's program. Spectators
were given immediate insight into the personalities
of each performer and their instruments: Liu Fang's
intensity and dexterity; Hideko Nara's calm and
fluidity; Patrick Graham's humour and versatility;
Kohei Nishikawa's playfulness and virtuosity.
That this performance took place in such an intimate
setting was an additional treat for audience members.
Two pieces were premiere
performances for which the composers were present.
Diego Luzuriaga and Yoshiharu Takahashi were both
touched by the public's warm reception to their
music and thrilled about the interpretations they
had heard.
They also performed at Bishop's
University in Sherbrooke, at the Embassy of Japan
in Ottawa, as well as at Toronto's Music Gallery.
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