Issue 23 ESS Newsletter FEB 2013.Pdf
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1 Index Letter from the chairperson 3 Letter from Kakizakai Kaoru 4 Barcelona 2013 (English) 5 Barcelona 2013 (Spanish) 8 Barcelona 2013 (French) 11 Barcelona 2013 (German) 15 Barcelona 2013 (Russian) 19 Barcelona 2013 (Italian) 23 Prague Shakuhachi Festival 2013: New horizons by Marek Matvija 26 Performances by Rodrigo Rodriguez 29 News from Europe 32 Master class with Teruo Furuya 34 Master class de Teruo Furuya (French) 36 Kyoto San 38 Kurahashi Workshop 40 La Voie du Bambou, France 41 Performances by Viz Michael Kremietz 44 Hélène Codjo in the Netherlands 45 News from around the world 46 A Trip to London Marek Matvija 48 CD releases with Kiku Day 51 Two Rivers by Adrian Freedman & Ravi 52 CD Review by Gunnar Jinmei Linder 54 CD Release by Jose Vargas 57 Membership of the European Shakuhachi Society 58 Mitgliedschaft in der European Shakuhachi Society 59 Adhésion à la Fédération Européenne du Shakuhachi 60 Letter from the editor, Welcome to the February 2013 ESS newsletter. This edition contains informaion about many events in the coming months as well as details of summer schools. It is also great to get more notices and reviews of new CDs. Many thanks to the translators who make our newsletter and organisation more inclusive. In many cases, I have presented the information in the format presented to me, so please forgive any inconsistencies. I include some News from around the World that is sent to the ESS. However, I must state that is outside the scope the ESS to feature all world events that come to our attention. We will try to mention some events by other shakuhachi organisations and by performers who are regular visitors to Europe. Philip Horan. 2 Letter from the Chairperson European Shakuhachi Summer School 2013 in Barcelona World Shakuhachi Festival in 2016 organised by ESS and PSF Welcome to the first ESS Newsletter of 2013. As the editor, Philip Horan has already mentioned, this edition is focused on shakuhachi events in Europe in the near future. The length of this Newsletter clearly shows how much shakuhachi activities are taking place in Europe today. And this is the Europe, which – apart from a few centres –was close to a shakuhachi desert ten years ago. With the new energised commit- tee, we have been busily preparing to launch the ESS website for real. The hope is to create a website that is user-friendly for shakuhachi players so they can find events in Europe easily on the calendar, find a teacher in the vicinity of where they live, and also see what kind of styles, schools and genres taught. Our Communication Officer, Thorsten Knaub has been busily occupied. I am myself looking very much forward to the day we can launch the full website. An event I am very much looking forward to this year is our yearly Euro- pean Shakuhachi Summer School in Barcelona 25 – 28 July, 2013. It is the first time we will have a European Shakuhachi Summer School in this re- gion of Europe. You can find many more details about Barcelona 2013 in the article written by the main organising team in Barcelona led by Horacio Curti here in the NL. The ESS has organised the European Shakuhachi Summer Schools since 2006 where we had our first event in London. Our efforts will culminate in the ESS in collaboration with the Prague Team organising the World Shakuhachi Festival in 2016. Please keep in mind that we will have this great world event in Europe in three years! You can send is suggestions on what you would like to see/hear/do at the WSF16 on our forum: www.shakuhachiforum.eu or start a discussion. 3 Barcelona 2013 Letter from Kakizakai-sensei, Our ancestors on the shakuhachi, the komuso, formed a great path of discovery. They did not recognise the sounds made with their bamboo flutes as music, instead playing their bamboo almost as a prayer. Later on, great players such as Watazumi doso or Yokohama Katsuya (among others) turned those materials into real music. I think of this development as a process of ‘polishing rough stones,’ something that needs musical training. I am talking about basic sound production, pitch control, volume control, and tone color control, to mention just a few. During the European Shakuhachi Society Summer School that will take place in Barcelona in July 2013, I would like to give some hints on ‘polishing rough stones.’ You are welcome to join us. Kakizakai Kaoru Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan www.kakizakai.com E-mail de Barcelona 2013 : [email protected] Site Web de Barcelona 2013 : www.barcelona2013.shakuhachisociety.eu 4 Barcelona 2013 Hello, shakuhachi enthusiasts from all around Europe and beyond. We welcome you to the European Shakuhachi Society Summer School in Barcelona from 25th to 28th July, 2013. The European Shakuhachi Society, through the Spanish shakuhachi group has already been working for many months to make this event possible and we have great news for you all. The dates: We will be starting on Thursday, July 25th at 9am and will go on until Sunday, July 28th at around 6pm. So, our suggestion is for you to arrive on Wednesday 24th and leave either on Sunday night or on Monday. The activities: We are still making the final touches to the schedule but we can already say that there are going to be groups for 3 different kinds of honkyoku (KSK, Kinko-ryu and Zensabo), as well as sankyoku, an introductory shakuhachi making class and a 2-day shakuhachi making masterclass for those with experience in making shakuhachi, improvisation on min’yo, shinkyoku, contemporary music, basic techniques, sound improvement workshops, and much more. Besides the courses, there will be talks, round table discussions, concerts (including 2 main concerts by the teachers) and also time to socialise. You are welcome to bring your CDs, flutes and books to sell and exchange. The concerts: 4 days, 4 concerts. We will have 2 concerts by the teachers in which we expect to cover the wide range of styles represented at the event and new pieces will also be premiered. These concerts will be held at a prestigious concert hall and we 5 are expecting many people from outside the event to attend. There will also be an Open Mic Night at which anyone is welcome to play and share their music and finally the event will end with a Students’ Concert on Sunday. The teachers: Kaoru Kakizakai will be coming from Japan to share with us his knowledge of the honkyoku transmitted to him by the great Yokoyama Katsuya (Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan) and more; John Kaizan Neptune, the reputed shakuhachi jinashi maker, will also be coming from Japan (a really rare and great occasion for all interested in shakuhachi making); from Sweden, we will have Gunnar Jinmei Linder who will be teaching both sankyoku and Kinko-ryu honkyoku; from France, Veronique Piron will share with us her contemporary music work, shinkyoku music and improvisation. Kiku Day from Denmark/UK will be sharing contemporary music views and Zensabo honkyoku as learnt from Okuda Atsuya. Jim Franklin will be teaching Chikuho honkyoku. And the shamisen and koto are not going to be missing the party. Fumie Hihara, the koto/shamisen player coming from Japan/France, will be teaching koto and shamisen and will also take part in the sankyoku classes, together with the koto player, Yoshie Sakai from Madrid, who will be teaching koto as well. We may even have a couple of surprises regarding teachers. For those of you who have never put a finger on a shakuhachi, we are preparing a great workshop for you and will even lend you instruments if do not have your own. The accommodation: In the vicinity of the venue, there are several hotels to meet a range of budgets. (See ‘accommodation’ on the main menu of the website). Book your accommodation early – you will have to do this for yourself (consider that July in Barcelona is peak season). See the list of possible accommodations that we have summarized for you and notice that with some of them, we have made agreements in order for you to get discounts. The organisation team: A great team has been working for many months already. Lead by Horacio Curti and assisted by Ramon Humet, Stella Maris ‘Hawwa’ Morales, José Vargas, Jim Franklin and Michael Soumei Coxall. The registration: This will be run by the main host institution (ESMUC) and registration details will soon be available, but remember to book early! This is especially 6 important for those wishing to take the shakuhachi making workshops which will be small groups. The cost issue: We are very well aware of the present financial difficulties and are working hard trying to make the registration fee as low as possible. There is going to be a regular price and a discount for ESS members. We are also trying to make possible a special discount for early registrations. A small extra fee will be required for the shakuhachi making workshops to cover the cost of materials (besides the bamboo). The location: A great place inside the city of Barcelona, 20 minutes walk to the beach and 2 metro stations from Plaza Catalunya, the actual centre of the city and the place where you get off the bus from the airport. The metro station is Marina on the L1 line. The venue: We could not have hoped for a better venue as the event is going to be held in 3 connected buildings, which are the homes of 3 institutions; the Music Museum of Barcelona, ‘L´Auditori’ of Barcelona, and the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC).