JQ Magazine: Nippon in New York – Midori, ‘Witchwatch’, Yoko Kanno Live!
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By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02). Justin has written about Japanese arts and entertainment for JETAA since 2005. For more of his articles, click here.
Stay warm this winter with some hot local events, from live showcases that will transport you to another time and place, a clutch of new anime screenings, and a live performance you won’t want to miss.
One of the great artists of the violin world, Midori returns to the 92NY stage with pianist Özgür Aydin for a recital of music at the heart of her artistry. She opens with the New York premiere of a new work by Che Buford inspired by spirituals, followed by Brahms’ beautiful Violin Sonata in G Major and Poulenc’s Violin Sonata, with its touches of Parisian character. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth, the concert closes with a pair of pieces by Ravel, including one of Midori’s signature works, the fiery Tzigane, which she performed in her recital debut over 30 years ago and continues to make her own.
Program: CHE BUFORD Resonances of Spirit BRAHMS Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78 ———– POULENC Sonata for Violin and Piano RAVEL Kaddish (arr. L. Garban) Tzigane
Monday, March 10, 7:30 p.m.
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$21, $14 Japan Society members
In the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, an aging mother and her adult hikikomori (shut-in) son struggle under the weight of isolation, time and memory. With a cataclysmic flash, the woman is in jeopardy, unable to find help in her haunted and absent son and invisible to passerby behind her property fence. Yet, in a torn and poisoned world, sometimes we do the most good by extending a hand over the fence towards what we can’t reach. Continuing our focus on female playwrights, Izumi Kasagi, whose play the far side of the moon was a prestigious Kishida Kunio Drama Award finalist, paints lives in shimmering watercolors in this moving modern meditation on old age and loneliness. Skye Kowaleski, NYC-based holistic artist and former co-director of the OBIE-award winning venue JACK, leads their local cast through this poetic work. Followed by an Artist Q&A.
March 12, 16
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Various theaters
Various prices
An Anime Expo Cinema Nights exclusive! Universal Century 0093. The previously missing Char Aznable has revived Neo Zeon and declared war against the Earth Federation government. The Londo Bell unit commanded by Bright Noa is forced to fight alone and unaided against the Neo Zeon forces, which have begun dropping asteroids onto the Earth. Among the Londo Bell members is Amuro Ray, Char’s longtime rival. But their valiant efforts are in vain as 5th Luna falls onto the planet. Sensing a further threat behind Char’s movements, Amuro heads for the Moon to collect the Nu Gundam, a mobile suit equipped with a psycho-frame. Waiting for him is its lead developer, Chan Agi. Meanwhile, Bright’s son Hathaway Noa meets a girl named Quess Paraya on his way into space, and is instantly attracted to her.
March 12, 16
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Various theaters
Various prices
An Anime Expo Cinema Nights exclusive! Universal Century 0093. The previously missing Char Aznable has revived Neo Zeon and declared war against the Earth Federation government. The Londo Bell unit commanded by Bright Noa is forced to fight alone and unaided against the Neo Zeon forces, which have begun dropping asteroids onto the Earth. Among the Londo Bell members is Amuro Ray, Char’s longtime rival. But their valiant efforts are in vain as 5th Luna falls onto the planet. Sensing a further threat behind Char’s movements, Amuro heads for the Moon to collect the Nu Gundam, a mobile suit equipped with a psycho-frame. Waiting for him is its lead developer, Chan Agi. Meanwhile, Bright’s son Hathaway Noa meets a girl named Quess Paraya on his way into space, and is instantly attracted to her.
March 16-18
Various theaters
Various prices
Three-episode premiere of a magical new rom-com! Based on the Shonen Jump manga by Kenta Shinohara! Morihito Otogi, a high school student who comes from a lineage of ogres, enjoys a peaceful, ordinary life until his childhood friend, Nico, moves in with him. Nico is a witch-in-training, and chooses Morihito to be her familiar. While Nico is thrilled to reunite with her old friend and crush, Morihito is tasked with the perilous duty to protect her from a foretold calamity. Between the unpredictable chaos caused by Nico’s magic, and the awkwardness of sharing a home, their lives become a whirlwind of supernatural hijinks and threats. Puppy love meets magical mischief and danger in Witch Watch, the endlessly charming and riotously funny new anime series.
Based on the Weekly Shonen Jump manga by Kenta Shinohara (SKET Dance), get the first sneak peek of the upcoming anime with Witch Watch: Watch Party, a special theatrical premiere event featuring the first three episodes and exclusive interviews.
Saturday, March 29, 8:00 p.m.
The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street
Legendary songwriter, composer, arranger and producer Yoko Kanno takes to The Town Hall stage with a full jazz concert of her most revered and personally beloved compositions. Joining Kanno in the hall that built bebop is multi-hyphenate artist Logan Richardson and his Blues People Big Bang. Lyricist and songwriter, arranger and music producer, Yoko Kanno has composed music for movies, TV dramas, TV commercials, animation, and video games. She has produced and written music for many artists as well. Her masterpieces include scores to the anime series Cowboy Bebop, Genesis of Aquarion, Macross Frontier, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, the film Our Little Sister, and the NHK historical TV drama Naotora: The Lady Warlord. She also composed the Great East Japan Earthquake (Fukushima) recovery support song, “Flowers Will Bloom – Hana wa Saku,” for which she created many different arrangements. In the first year of the new Reiwa Era, she composed the Japanese Emperor’s enthronement celebration song, “Ray of Water,” and dedicated the performance to the Emperor and the Empress in front of the Imperial Palace. Most recently, she composed the music for two Netflix TV series: a live action version of Cowboy Bebop and The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House.
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