The 18th edition of the 18th Meridian International Contemporary Music Festival in Bucharest took place in Bucharest and other Romanian cities in the first half of November. Held under the motto Persona, this year’s festival set out to explore masks and the symbols linked to them, from social to theatre masks, from makeover to protection, from magic to drama to playfulness, from appearance to essence.<\/p>\n
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One of the highlights of the festival this year was the presence of Ryoko Aoki, a Japanese traditional Noh theatre singer who for over a decade now has been pioneering a new art form that combines the tradition of medieval Japanese theatre with international contemporary music.<\/p>\n
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As part of her Noh x Contemporary Music, Ryoko Aoki has commissioned a series of new works for Noh voice. More than 55 works have been written for her by various composers, including Peter E\u00f6tv\u00f6s, Toshio Hosokawa, Stefano Gervasoni, Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda S\u00e1nchez-Verd\u00fa, and Oliver Schneller.<\/p>\n
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