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textura

In the formal concert hall setting, all effort is made to prevent the intrusion of extraneous noise so as to promote the purest possible listening experience. And further to that, much effort is put forth to ensure that the piano played by the performer will be as perfectly tuned as possible. Hideyuki Hashimoto's third solo piano album Home would seem to err, then, on both counts, given that it teems with extra-musical sounds and that the piano the Osaka, Japan-born musician played, one found in a school on a small island in the Setouchi sea, is an upright that hadn't been tuned for over ten years when he sat down to play it.

Perhaps a bit of context is needed to explain the circumstances that account for the fifty-three minute recording, the follow-up to Hashimoto's 2012 releases Earth and Air. Following the Setouchi Triennale 2013, Hideyuki Hashimoto partook in the Sea's Terrace event at Takamijima and recorded the album on June 30th and September 11th and 12th on said upright next to an open window. Communing with the sounds of nature—wind, insects, and birds foremost among them—that drifted into the room as he improvised, Hashimoto created the album's twenty-four pieces, none less than one minute in duration nor any longer than three.

The creaking noises produced by the instrument are audible throughout, and the ambient hum of the outdoors is sometimes as prominent as the piano playing: bird chatter is omnipresent, and the insect thrum in some tracks suggests they might have been recorded at day's end. But such sounds merely enhance the recording by situating it in a real-world context, one that lives and breathes in accordance with its own natural rhythms. And though the piano might not have been formally tuned for a decade, it doesn't sound so desperately in need of tuning that its condition becomes a distraction or negative factor.

While there are subtle variations in mood, Hashimoto's ruminations are generally serene and nostalgic in tone and characterized by delicacy and fragility. And while they're all pretty, certain pieces do stand out as particularly beautiful, among them “yama” and “spring,” for their graceful and stately qualities, and “michi,” “manabiya,” and “ki” for their wistfulness. But in truth, it makes less sense to single out specific pieces and more to regard the album as a total statement. In that regard, Home makes for a lovely complement to Hashimoto's 2012 releases as well as a recording that should appeal to those with albums by Dustin O'Halloran, Peter Broderick, and Nils Frahm in their collections.
- textura - March 2014 -

Bad Alchemy Magazin

Am offenen Fenster klimpern, das erinnert an Koji Asano. Wobei der immer eine Noisegardine als Vorhang mit einzog. Sein Landsmann, mit Earth und Air (beide 2012) als beschaulicher Pianist schon eingeführt, tagträumt hier auf einem alten, ächzenden Pianino in einer Schule auf der Insel Takamijima. Diese Reveries sind so zeitvergessen und in sich versunken, dass sie weit abseits von volkstümlichen 'Shima Uta'-Kitsch etwas Anrührendes aus strahlen. Man hört Kinderstimmen draußen und einen Vogel als Zimmergenossen. 'Toki' ist unter den 24 Miniaturen besonders ohrwurmig gelungen, ein kleines Volkslied wie ein Vögelchen in der hohlen Hand. Ebenso 'Yama', 'Spring' und das stein erweichende 'Ishi' als Melodien, die es schon hundert Jahre geben könnte. Was der Japaner da macht, geht nicht über das kleine Einmaleins der Pianistik hinaus. Alles ist so simpel wie in einer Kinderfibel, wo die Erstklässler Wörter lernen für das, was sie vor Augen haben: Meer, Himmel, Berg, Schiff, eine Straße, erste Schritte, ein Lied. Etwas können, etwas fragen können, eine Stimme haben. Hashimoto geht auf seiner Insel, in seinem Zimmer, sehr weit zurück in eine Kindheit, zumindest in eine nostalgische, wehmütige Vision davon. Der Ton wird immer brüchiger, die Tristesse nimmt immer mehr zu. Das Gefühl, dass kein Weg zurück führt, ist mit Händen zu greifen, jedenfalls ertasten Hashimotos Hände nur schwarze Tasten. 'Uta' heißt offenbar nicht 'Lied', sondern 'trauriges Lied', 'leaf' nicht 'Blatt', sondern 'welkes Blatt'. [BA 80 rbd]

Musica

Un pianoforte, solamente un pianoforte, si pone davanti all'immensità dell'essere umano. Si tratta del piano di Hideyuki Hashimoto che centrifuga nelle sue note candide emozioni. "Home" è un disco, senza ombra di dubbio, notturno...Non è adatto alla luce solare, ma la sua maestosità emerge dalle tenebre. "Home" ovvero la casa, il ritrovo deserto delle quattro mura domestiche. Un coacervo di pensieri e depressioni mai sopite. Questo artista si mostra poco alla volta, suona lentamente la sua musica. Non vuole essere disturbato da vicini noiosi. Nella sua abitazione entra solamente un pubblico selezionato. Si ascolta in silenzio la sua rappresentazione, bisogna essere partecipi di una esistenza giocata sul filo di lana. Hashimoto pone molta attenzione sui particolari, non sfugge nulla al musicista giapponese. Ogni mossa è concepita e realizzata nella massima trasparenza e lucidità mentale. "Home" è un cd completo e mirabile, si fionda di getto sulla mente di ogni ascoltatore. E' cerebrale nei suoi movimenti, è istantaneo nei suoi percorsi...Perfettamente inserito nella cosidetta arte moderna.

nowhere

やかんからのぼる湯気。窓をつたう水滴。差し込む日差しが食卓の小鉢を照らして通り過ぎる。華やかではありませんが、そんな素朴であたたかい光景が浮かびます。

過去作品中最も音数も多く、メロディーも分かりやすいのですが、そこには良い音楽を聴かせようといういやらしさは微塵も感じられません。ソロピアノのようなシンプルな音楽において聴く人が音楽の世界に入り込むためには、演者の影、作家の自意識をどれだけ除けるかというのがとても大切に思えるのですが、本作ではその自己表現の枠をするりと越えて、この音楽を芸術の域に昇華させることに成功しているように感じます。

鳥の声や虫の音などの心地よいフィールドレコーディング、そしてピアノのハンマー・アクション部の擦れる音やペダルを踏む音が、優しい気配となって聴く人を包みます。浮かんでくるのは懐かしい食卓や部屋の風景。『HOME』という名前に違わぬ暖かい作品です。肩の力を抜いて聴ける、そして長く楽しめそうな優しい作品。24曲53分。
nowhere