MATSUDAIRA: Bugaku Dance Suite – Theme and Variations for Piano and Orchestra. Naxos 8.555882.

• Conductor: Ken Takaseki
• Orchestra(s): Osaka Century Orchestra
• Artist(s): Ichiro Nodaira

Yoritsune Matsudaira was one of the greatest Japanese composers of the 20th century. His music won the respect of Messiaen and Takemitsu, and has been performed in Europe by many distinguished musicians. Matsudaira developed a distinctive, modern style of his own based on the ancient Japanese court music, Gagaku, in which various musical elements, including dance music (Bugaku) from Japan, China and Korea are brought together. Written in the late 1950s, U-Mai (Right Dance), Sa-Mai (Left Dance) and Danza Rituale e Finale, are presented on this recording in the form of a suite, following ancient Japanese tradition. In these works Matsudaira attempts to integrate Gagaku with the avant-garde techniques of Stockhausen and Boulez.