Found this from someone's senior recital program.....
Fuzzy Bird Sonata — Takashi Yoshimatsu
Takashi Yoshimatsu was born in Tokyo in 1953. As a child, he
was fascinated by symphonies of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. After
attending Keio University, Yoshimatsu joined a jazz and rock group,
particularly being interested in the innovative possibilities of rough
electronic music. From his experiences, Yoshimatsu began to oppose
“unmusical” modern music, instead favoring a type of “new lyricism”
in his pieces.
Yoshimatsu has published many works. He made his composition
debut with Threnody to Toki in 1981. Since then, he has presented
many different types of pieces. These include five symphonies and
other orchestral works, eight concertos, various stage works, a series of
chamber music related to birds, works for piano and guitar, and some
works for traditional Japanese instruments. Yoshimatsu is generally
considered to be one Japan’s greatest composers in the western classical
style; his compositions are very tuneful and sensitive to the capacities
of each individual instrument.
Fuzzy Bird Sonata was written for renowned saxophone virtuoso
Nobuya Sugawa in 1991 as a part of Yoshimatsu’s continuing
‘Bird’ series. Fuzzy Bird Sonata is a very adventurous work that provides
the soloist and pianist the most enjoyable challenges. It is filled
with many contrasts and a variety of character. “Sing, bird” is a
thoughtful improvisation between two dazzling outer movements.
The influences of bird song, folk melodies and jazz can be heard as the
saxophone uses contemporary techniques such as glissandi and the
altissimo register.
P.S. I'll see if I can find my old recital program for what I listed on there.
