Childhood is a special topic in Japan: how children celebrate and play, what rights and, even more importantly, responsibilities they have, how their daily routine is structured, what rules apply at school, how instruments are taught, what rituals are observed in music lessons, and how music is notated – we explore all of this between the musical pieces. Japanese music cherishes the marimba: Keiko Abe composed "Reflections on Japanese Children's Songs II" for marimba duo. The marimba, as a modern instrument of the 20th century, blends beautifully in a duo with the bamboo flute, the shakuhachi. Marimba and shakuhachi perform a composition by their master, Hosan Yamamoto. Dieter Strehly spent a year in Japan studying the shakuhachi – a bamboo flute – while Gaby Zechmeister mastered the koto, a curved zither. The sound of the koto and shakuhachi together is enchanting, and we demonstrate how it is notated. In Japan, the koto is reverently called O-Koto, and the performance begins with a bow. The Austrian premiere of a duo by Japanese composer Dai Fujikura, "Kodama"—a hymn to tree spirits and ghosts—will be performed!

Dieter Strehly

Events

Upcoming events

23 - 24 Mar, 2026

Tamagotchi And Animé · Das MuTh

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