NEWS

Jun Märkl conducts his Orchestra National de Lyon in a three-part Prom tracing musical cross-fertilisations between East and West, and between France and Spain. Takemitsu's Ceremonial showcases the Japanese shō (mouth organ) but the key influence on his Green was Debussy – who had himself used oriental scales and sonorities in 'Pagodes' and La mer.

The shō reappears in Hosokawa's recent Cloud and Light, which, despite its Debussyan title, was inspired by an image of the Buddha. Bizet never visited Spain but even real Spaniards such as Sarasate adored his Carmen; Ravel, by contrast, imbibed a love of Spain from his Basque mother, though the gypsy of his Tzigane is clearly Hungarian.

--> PROMS 2009

--> Jun Märkl
--> Akiko Suwanai
--> Mayumi Miyata