Born in Kanagawa, Japan on February 20, 1929. He studied at Conservatoire de Paris till 1952. He studied under Ikenouchi Tomojiro, Hashimoto Kunihiko, Ifukube Akira, Tonny Aubin. In 1948, he wrote "Divertiment for 10 instruments "for the graduate composition, which attracted much attention for its novel sense and smart sounds as the work by the post-war generation. He won the award for his "SPHENOGRAM for voice and 6 instruments" (50) at ISCM in 1951, then he went Paris to study music. But only a year later, he came back to Japan because he felt there was nothing to learn from the academic, traditional school of composition. After that, he started to take his own way. He was awarded Odaka prize twice for "SYMPHONIA NIRVANA" (56) and "BUGAKU" (62). He is well known for his distinguished work such as symphony "MANDARA" (60), opera "KINKAKUJI" (76), ballet music "KABUKI", and opera "KOJIKI" (96). He died in April, 1997.
Yiu-kwong Chung is one of Taiwan's best known composers. His first prize-winning chamber work in 1986 is Chariote Ballad for Solo Marimba and 7 Percussionists. His two bold and energetic pieces Dance of the Earth and Taiwanese Children Song, performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, are recorded on SONY (Taiwan)'s Super Charme Yo-Yo Ma Album. Numerous recent commissions and collaboration with renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, the Berlin Philharmonic 12 Cellists, and Elsner String Quartet have confirmed the growing interest in his music throughout the world. He received his Doctoral of Musical Arts (D.M.A) degree from City University of New York. Chung has been teaching composition and percussion at the National Taiwan College of Arts since 1996.
Based on a mountain song A Little Stream from the Yunnan Province of Mainland China, In A Faraway Garden ?U is a concertante for violin and orchestra. The rhapsodic and improvisatory characteristics of folklore original are preserved in the solo violin line. The first four notes of the original mountain song A-C-D-E, stated by the orchestra at the outset, served as the germinal motivic cell.
J.C.Toledo is a recognized figure leading a new generation of contemporary artists who are establishing a new image for the Philippines in the international music scene. He is the chairman of the Department of Composition and Theory at the University of the Philippines College of Music; music director of the Cebu Philharmonic Orchestra; and regularly conducts the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. His music includes works for chorus, orchestra, and chamber ensemble. His compositions have been featured in several international music festivals such as the Focus, Gaudeamus, Pacific Music Festival. His music has been cited for its fusion of contemporary western language and Southeast Asian aesthetics.
The work was inspired by a song among the Bagobo-Tagabawa of southern Philippincs-an old form of vocal expression punctuated by shouts from the listeners. Several qualities of this song were used throughout the piece-the melodic contour of the song as the basis for the entire shape and structure; its lyricism; and punctuative character. The work was premiered by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta last November 1999.
