Hisatada Otaka Concerto for Flute and Orchestra Op. 30b - Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra 亚洲文化乐团

Conductor: Adrian Chiang
Composer: Hisatada Otaka
Flute soloist: Cheryl Lim
Oriental Winds - Asian Cultural Music Through Transverse and Vertical Flutes
10 February 2018, 7.30pm
School of the Arts Concert Hall, Singapore
Programme Notes
Hisatada Otaka's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra Op. 30b was written in 1951. It is a full-blown romantic masterwork in the mold of Reinecke, Nielsen, and Khachaturian. A Notable recording of
this composition was performed by world-renowned flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, made with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tadashi Mori, the flautist for whom the work
was originally written for. Contrary to Otaka’s main influence of “German Romanticism” combined with certain characteristics of Japanese Nationalism in his compositions, this flute concerto is
written in the vein of the 1940s Japanese romantic compositional style, infused with French sensibilities.
The opening movement of the work features pleasantly tonal and lyrical melodies of the flute.
The central movement contains some dream-like slow passages of considerable beauty, by turns mildly plaintive and listless and also a striking passage almost Middle-Eastern in nature, when the
flute plays over col legno basses.
The opening of the final movement is sparklingly vivacious, led by the soloist, the rhythms and phrasing becoming more assertive and almost aggressive as the orchestra takes over, before the work
hurries headlong to a rapidly building climax.

[@munchiemoto3561]

very cool! its like Asian Mozart

[@AsianCulturalSymphonyOrchestra]

Thanks so much for your kind words! Means a lot to our young orchestra!

[@JAMESLEVEE]

What is the tempo of the final movement? My research has found that the first movement is Allegro con spirito, and the second movement is Lento.