TAMAGOTCHI AND ANIMÉ | Schools performance | KIDS

Childhood is a special topic in Japan – how children celebrate and play, their rights and responsibilities, how daily routines are organised, the rules in schools, methods of teaching instruments, the rituals in music lessons and how music is notated — all of this is shared through the music itself. Japanese music has a special affinity for the marimba: Keiko Abe composed “Reflections on Japanese Children’s Songs II” for marimba duo. This modern 20th-century instrument blends beautifully with the traditional bamboo flute, shakuhachi. Together, marimba and shakuhachi perform a composition by their master, Hosan Yamamoto. Dieter Strehly spent a year studying the shakuhachi – a traditional bamboo flute – in Japan, while Gaby Zechmeister has mastered the koto, an arched-board zither. The harmony between koto and shakuhachi is truly magical, and we’ll show you how this music is notated. In Japan, the koto is respectfully called O-Koto, and performances traditionally begin with the performer bowing to the audience. The Austrian premiere features a duo by Japanese composer Dai Fujikura titled Kodama – a heartfelt tribute to tree spirits and ghosts!