Toshio Hosokawa “Neben Dem Fluss…”

Toshio Hosokawa
Neben Dem Fluss…
ALM Records (Japan) 1984
AL-28 (LP) w/insert.
sleeve : NM(SOC)
media : EX+/EX+(some slightly surface noises, still good condition.)

This is the first album released in 1984 by Toshio Hosokawa, a Japanese composer who studied under Akio Yashiro and Yun Isang, and began composing in earnest in the late 70s. The title track, A1, is a solo piece for harp, performed by Fumiko Shinozaki, B2 is a string quartet, B1 is a violin solo by Kishiko Kusumi, and B2 is an accordion solo by Mie Miki. In each piece, there is a silence on the water, a fury that suddenly cuts through it, sustained sounds and blows, and an unstable melody that is not unpleasant, but a free journey of sound as if it were representing a natural scene. Highly recommended all, but B2 is a world beyond that ambient fans should also listen to.