Late January and early February offer three fascinating hogaku concerts, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary and a world premier of a collaboration of Asian musical styles and dance.
In recent centuries, the West has experienced a growing separation of music from dance and theater, as each has developed into a separate genre. In Asia, however, the distinction between various genres is not quite as clear-cut, and we can still experience the intimate connection between the vibration of tones and the movement of the physical body in such performances as the austere noh theater, the grand Katakali dance of Kerala and the enchanting Balinese Ketcha festival.
Japanese composer Yuji Takahashi, who strives to revive such ancient connections in combinations meaningful to the present, will collaborate with Javanese dancer and choreographer Sardono Kusumo, Balinese composer I Wayan Sadra, Philippine composer Jose Maceda, shamisen performer Kazuko Takada, koto performer Yoko Nishi and several other musicians, to present an evening of song, music and dance entitled "Setsubun Zenya," or "The Eve of Spring."