Ravel’s Take on Madagascar

At her November 2018 concert, Tomoko performed Ravel’s "Chansons madecasses" with flautist Tod Brody, cellist Eric Gaenslen, and soprano Miwako Isano. 

This composition, written in 1925-1926, marked a turning point in Ravel’s career, when he focused more on melody and linear ensembles. The music is very impressionistic with its evocative sensuality. Ravel had a long-term interest in ethnic music. However, the work veered away from his usual Spanish inspiration. Apparently, Malagasy traditional music was known in France at that time. 

The text is based on the 18^th century Creole poet Evariste-Desire de Parny, whom Ravel was reading when he was commissioned to write a chamber work. The poems cry for liberation from Madagascar’s colonialism and slavery. 

The first song, “Nahandove,” recounts a native woman’s section. The voice interprets the story as the other instruments provide an evocative landscape.

The second song, “Aoua!!”, shrieks about dangerous white men. The title’s rendition in minor thirds, the piano’s percussive role, the undulating flute, and the ensemble’s bitonality together paint a sharp warning picture. 

The third song, “Il est doux de se coucher,” begins with a melancholy flute, evoking the end of the day (the song is translated as “it is sweet to lie down”). The voice then takes center stage, seems to drift off, and then bristly ends – to the realities of day.

Altogether, Ravel’s experimental music embodies the text in a dramatic and erotic way. Today’s listeners feel the quartet’s pull in a very immediate way.

A day in a recital

Tomoko has planned another recital concert – this one is today: November 18. It’s very important for her, and she is giving a souvenir to remember the day along with the real-life, real-time unique experience.

What is recital day like?

Tomoko starts this day early, as she does every day, with a light breakfast before dawn. She takes special effort to dress professionally for the performance. She gathers last-minute supplies, and packs her car for her drive through Marin County, over the Golden Gate Bridge, into The City. Tomoko likes to drive at this hour on Sunday, with the highway largely free of traffic.

She holds her recitals and concerts at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, fittingly near the Opera House. Parking is free on Sunday, which the many attenders and performers appreciate, especially since parking can be found at a real premium.  

Hours ahead of concert time, tables are set up for the welcome and reception. Tomoko has a great group of volunteers who bring food and flowers, create the program, take photos, and greet people.

Tomoko spends her time behind the stage, giving advice to her performers, checking with technicians, and dealing with last-minute details. It can be a nerve-wracking time, especially as Tomoko wants the day to be as close to perfect as possible so everyone will experience the height of musical culture. Fortunately, everyone else has the same goal, and that spirit permeates the Conservatory as each  individual contributes to the day’s success.

Throughout the performances people are eager, expectant, delighted, appreciative. Performers receive heartfelt applause and flowers. Enthusiasm continues after the music stops as the audience discusses the music while feasting on homemade and commercial delectable and beverages.  The music truly unites and uplifts.

For Tomoko, it’s a long fulfilling day. She recalls details as she drives home. Tomoko has made this experience possible; it is her gift. 

Starting the New Year Right with Music

On a brisk Saturday, friends of Tomoko and music, gather at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in anticipation of a unique concert experience. Families, students, long-time friends all walk into the bas-relief auditorium, chatting quietly and checking their phones. Flower bouquets set in the front side seats, ready to be bestowed. As the lights dim, the audience holds their breath in anticipation. They stow away any distractions. The performance begins!

For the first piece, Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A Major (Opus 114, D. 607) Tomoko has gathered four experienced musicians who have never played all together. They have rehearsed together only three times, but the audience would never know. The quintet (violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano instruments) are simultaneously alert and relaxed. Their personalities shine as they use the entire bow length for a legato measure or sharply tap staccato notes. Especially when a section plays two musicians off each other, the feeling of a connected conversation is apparent.

No wonder intermission is a time for thanks, congratulations, joy. And it is a time to set up the logistics, the myriad details, to ensure a successful second half and parter thereafter. The time goes too fast.

Three sets of piano duets grace the audience after intermission: Chabrier’s Trois Valses Romantiques, Debussy’s En Blanc et Noir, and Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2, Opus 17. These pieces are generally romantic, but have depth and complexity  that showcase the piantists’mastery and sensitivity. Even though the duos are seated across from each other across the two grand pianos, they listen closely to synchronize their efforts seamlessly. Sometimes it sounds more like one very complex piano than two piano voices. The performances reflected the joy of Tomoko’s friendship with her pianist partners.

Joanne Ahn and her committee prepare a tasty reception to honor the performers, and to give them a chance to mingle with the appreciative audience. The food is varied in flavor as the conversation. Many of the audience are musicians themselves, certainly music lovers, and the camaraderie between them and the performers underscores the feeling of community and shared values.

More now than ever we need these times to focus on beauty, to have a shared esthetic experience. And this experience will linger in each person’s mind and heart. We have Tomoko to thank for creating and orchestrating this special time to start the new year.