''A String Around Autumn'' ( ja, ア・ストリング・アラウンド・オータム), sometimes also called the Viola Concerto, is a concerto for

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

by Japanese composer

Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to: * TORU, spacecraft system * Toru (given name), Japanese male given name * Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan * Tõru, village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, Estonia {{disambig ...

. It was finished in 1989.

Composition

The composition was commissioned by the Festival d’Automne à Paris in 1989 as part of their commemoration of the French Revolution’s bicentennial. The title is based on a short poem by

Makoto Ōoka Welcome to Japanese Poetry
Poetry International, 20 ...

: Takemitsu stated that he chose this title because of the two words at the end: string and, more especially, autumn, even though some critics have acknowledged the two intended comparisons between the "string" (being the solo viola) and "autumn", which is the season in which the festival took place. Takemitsu, a French music lover, decided to create a composition very similar to the style of

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

and, especially,

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonical ...

, his "spiritual mentor", for the French audience of the festival. Even though the work is usually referred to as a concerto, Takemitsu initially called it an "imaginary landscape". This viola concerto was first performed in the ''

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by acoustician Gustave Lyon together with architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed in 1927 by ...

'' in Paris, on November 29, 1989. On this occasion, the soloist was

Nobuko Imai , is a Japanese classical violist with an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. Since 1988 she has played a 1690 Andrea Guarneri instrument. Biography Imai began her musical training at the age of six. She began studying at Tokyo's ...

, with the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Co ...

conducted by

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano GOQ, MSM (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 202 ...

. It was later published by Schott Japan in 1991 and has received a catalogue number W18 by James Siddons.

Structure

The composition takes around 16 minutes to perform and is in one movement. It is scored for a solo viola and a large orchestra, consisting of 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 4 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, vibraphone, glockenspiel, chimes, suspended cymbals, gongs, tamtams, 2 harps, piano, celesta, and a large section of strings.

Recordings

, the violist who premiered this piece, recorded it in August 1990, with the Saito Kinen Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa. It has been distributed by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

. *

Philip Dukes Philip Dukes (born 1968) is a British classical viola soloist. Early life and education Born in Birmingham, England, Dukes began his musical education at Wells Cathedral School in 1978. In 1985 Dukes went to the Guildhall School of Music and Dr ...

recorded it again with the

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation ...

on February 4 to 6, 2001, in the Salle de musique l'heure bleu, in

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...

, Switzerland. It was released under

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on European classical music, classical music, both Contemporary classical music, contemporary and Early music, early, especially ...

. *

recorded the piece again in September 21 to 24, 2006 in the Salle de musique l'heure bleu, in

, Switzerland, this time with the Orchestra of the Conservatoire Supérieur et Académie de Musique Tibor Varga, under

Gábor Takács-Nagy Gábor Takács-Nagy (born 17 April 1956,''International Who's Who in Classical Music'' (25th edition). Routledge (London), p. 807 (2009) (). Budapest), is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz ...

. This recording was released by

Pan Classics Pan Classics is a Swiss classical music record label. It was founded in 1992 by Pan Music of Zurich. In 1997 the classical label was acquired by the recording engineers Clément Spiess and Koichiro Hattori, and relocated to Vevey, on Lake Geneva The ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:String Around Autumn Compositions by Tōru Takemitsu 1989 compositions Contemporary classical compositions Takemitsu