Public Research Seminar: Ikuko Inoguchi

Embodying the Concept and Performance Practice of Ma in Concert Art Music: Compositional and Interpretive Proposition

Ikuko Inoguchi (City St George’s University of London)

In traditional Japanese music, the aesthetics of rhythm and artistic timing is underlined in the performance practice of ma. Ma, often translated as silence, refers to duration and timing that cannot be measured. Some contemporary composers incorporate this essence of ma into their music, while dealing with the challenge of communicating it in notation. My experience of premiering music for shakuhachi and piano shed new light on the relationship between notated and performed timing. In this seminar, I will propose an interpretive approach which embodies the idea of ma, while examining traditional and contemporary piano repertoire.

Acclaimed for her ability to display “fascinating colourful tones” (Der Kessener), Dr Ikuko Inoguchi is a concert pianist, performer-scholar, and musicologist. She is interested in performing and researching music with transcultural influence. In 2024, she premiered To-o-ne for shakuhachi and piano by Morita Yasnoshin, supported by the Royal Music Association and Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. She will premiere Yama no Yuma for shakuhachi and piano by Jim Franklin, inspired by finger sumi-e art work by Thorsten Schirmer in 2027.

Running time approx. 90 minutes