Submerged In Silence (2013) for piano, live electronics and video by I-lly Cheng performed live by Megumi Masaki

SUBMERGED IN SILENCE (2013) (CANADIAN PREMIERE)

對錯。On/Off 。 。Inside/Outside 。內外

動靜。Motion/Stillness 。 。Rapid/Inert 。快慢

強弱。Violent/Gentle 。 。Thick/Thin 。厚薄

遠近。Distant/Imminent 。 。Sparse/Dense 。疏密

虛實。Empty/Solid 。 。Shine/Rain 。晴雨

呼吸。inhale/exhale 。 。High/Low 。高低

Performed live (unedited) for the ISCM World New Music Days, "Closing Concert: A Kind of Magic" on November 8, 2017

Vancouver Playhouse, BC.

Orpheus Drones for piano and fixed electronics (2012) by T. Patrick Carrabré

Megumi Masaki MUSIC4EYES+EARS Blu-ray/CD Centrediscs CMCCD 24017

Orpheus Drones for piano and fixed electronics (2012) by T. Patrick Carrabré
Commissioned by Megumi Masaki
Premiere: The Windsor Festival of Canadian Music, February 11, 2012

T. Patrick Carrabré Program Note: Orpheus Drones is my lament for the mythical Greek oracle and musician. The Latin text that is woven through the piece is from Ovid’s description of the death of Orpheus. After his enemies fail to kill him with sticks and stones, Orpheus is torn to pieces. But all is not lost. His soul ends up in the underworld, where he can finally be reunited with his wife Eurydice. The combination of live piano, sampled sounds and electronics allows for the creation of a musical world that blends together beauty and ugliness. The musical ideas flow by at different rates. Some are anchored by extended drone notes, some run by quickly to form parabolic arches and others are condensed into short intense harmonic progressions.

Orpheus (2) for piano and fixed audio (2014) by T. Patrick Carrabré

Commissioned by Megumi Masaki with support from The Manitoba Arts Council

Premiere: Brandon University New Music Festival, January 22, 2016
Program Note:

The tale of Orpheus has inspired musicians since the late Renaissance. I first encountered the story as an undergraduate and in recent years it has haunted me through a number of pieces. Orpheus (2) is a “sequel” to Orpheus Drones (2011) and both were written for Megumi Masaki. The source text is Margaret Atwood’s poem of the same title. She also makes a modern day connection to the torture and death of the Chilean singer Victor Jara, in the days following the coup of 1973.

Even before I began work on the piece, I was struck by the opening line: “Whether he will go on singing.” Since Megumi had asked for the opportunity to interact with the text, I require the pianist to sing and speak while playing. There are also places where she must clap. I decided to take the participation concept a step further and have included a section for the audience (so they can sing too). While much of Orpheus’s story centres on loss, torture and death, Atwood’s text twists the pain in a new direction, towards defiance and hope

Meun II (2015) for prepared piano and electronics by Heera Kim (b. 1976)

CANADIAN PREMIERE Performed live (unedited) by Megumi Masaki. ISCM World New Music Days, "Closing Concert: A Kind of Magic" November 8, 2017 at the Vancouver Playhouse, BC.

MEUN II (2015)

The title of the work is that of French painter Simon Hantaï’s series. This work was based on the “balance between object and space,” a characteristic of Hantaï’s work. I studied how two heterogeneous objects (a piano and small speakers)are in harmony with each other and achieve a balance in a single work at the same time. There is a specific installation for the work: Two small speakers are placed inside a piano. Various synthesized sounds from the speaker create a resonance with the piano strings as the piano pedal is pressed, and a specific sound colour is produced and achieved as a result. (Heera Kim)

Spherical Springs (2014) for piano by Shingo Matsuura

CANADIAN PREMIERE performed live (unedited) by Megumi Masaki for the ISCM World New Music Days, "Closing Concert: A Kind of Magic" on November 8, 2017, Vancouver Playhouse, BC.

This piece was composed from my carefree imagination of spherical springs. Springs that well up suddenly in empty space may be spherical. Can the form of springs be maintained as the amount of water increases? The impression of these springs will vary due to the action of lights, winds, gravitations, or something that wells up suddenly. This piece has two sections, one is seeing many springs from far away and another is watching a spring nearby. (Shingo Matsuura)

A Cry (2015) by Maja Palser

CANADIAN PREMIERE, Performed live (unedited) by Megumi Masaki for the ISCM World New Music Days, "Closing Concert: A Kind of Magic" on November 8, 2017, Vancouver Playhouse, BC

a cry was written in 2015, as the refugee crisis was unfolding across Europe. It was inspired by a charcoal drawing by George Minne, himself a refugee, on a wall of the house he was staying at in the Welsh town of Llanidloes during World War I. It takes its title and pitch material from the Welsh hymn tune, Llef (a cry), which its composer wrote in response to his brother’s death. It has a lullaby-like quality - its subdued nature conveys a calm after the storm which is full of grief and loss. (Maja Palser)

Braga for chamber ensemble and electronics by Brent Lee

Live Windsor Canadian New Music Festival , Recorded by CBC Radio 2, David Jaeger, producer.

Assumption University Chapel, February 11, 2012

Jessica Pistor, soprano, Megumi Masaki, piano, Trevor Pittman, bass clarinet

Reflections on the Water by Vincent Ho

Performed by Megumi Masaki, Winnipeg New Music Festival 2010. Westminster Church Winnipeg, Recorded LIVE by CBC Radio 2

Februar Suite E. 88 (1934) by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Megumi Masaki, piano and Oleg Pokhanovski, violin

Banff Centre for the Arts, Rolston Recital Hall, September 8, 2010

The Complete Works for Violin and Piano Duo, Volume 1 by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Der Geiger E. 15 (1907) by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Megumi Masaki, piano and Oleg Pokhanovski, violin

Banff Centre for the Arts, Rolston Recital Hall, September 8, 2010

The Complete Works for Violin and Piano Duo, Volume 1 by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Souvenir E. 29 by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Megumi Masaki, piano and Oleg Pokhanovski, violin

Banff Centre for the Arts, Rolston Recital Hall, September 8, 2010

The Complete Works for Violin and Piano Duo, Volume 1 by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Berceuse E. 55 (1925) by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Megumi Masaki, piano and Oleg Pokhanovski, violin

Banff Centre for the Arts, Rolston Recital Hall, September 8, 2010 The Complete Works for Violin and Piano Duo, Volume 1 by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Improvisation E. 56 (1925) by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Megumi Masaki, piano and Oleg Pokhanovski, violin

Banff Centre for the Arts, Rolston Recital Hall, September 8, 2010 The Complete Works for Violin and Piano Duo, Volume 1 by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Grave Funebre E. 85 (1931) by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Megumi Masaki, piano and Oleg Pokhanovski, violin

Banff Centre for the Arts, Rolston Recital Hall, September 8, 2010

The Complete Works for Violin and Piano Duo, Volume 1 by S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté

Symphony No. 4 "Prayer" by Ustvolskaya

Live February 8, 2011
Brandon University New Music Festival
Lorne Watson Recital Hall, Brandon, MB
Sarah Hall, contralto
Joel Brennen, trumpet
Eric Platz, tam-tam
Megumi Masaki, piano

The fourth symphony by Galina Ustvolskaya was composed between 1985 and 1987. A chamber work orchestrated for trumpet, tam-tam, piano and contralto. With a duration of just seven minutes, it is a symphony of a single movement reduced to its minimum expression. Use the same text as the previous work. A prayer as its name indicates. It premiered on June 24 of 1988 in Heidelberg.

Boozhoo Manoomin Suite (2015-2020) by Beverley McKiver (b. 1958)

Live at BU Pro Series Concerts: Brandon University Indigenous New Music Festival, February 11, 2020 @ 7:30 PM
Lorne Watson Recital Hall, Brandon, MB

All That We Are
You Must Go
The Journey
Boozhoo Manoomin
Giizis (The Sun)
Dancing the Manoomin
Winnowing
Mishoomis Point

Melody McKiver, viola; Sarah Hall, soprano; Nancy Hennen, flute; Laura Jacyna, cello; Megumi Masaki, piano