Music Reviews : Flute, Koto and Guitar Concert in Pasadena

Offering steady, solid musicianship, if few surprises in programming, a sold-out concert of mostly Japanese music by flutist Shirley Mochizuki-Yamamoto, koto-player Yoko Awaya and guitarist James Smith at Pasadena Presbyterian Church opened the second season of concerts presented by the California Harp, Lute and Guitar Assn.

Highlighting the evening Saturday was a well coordinated and polished performance by Mochizuki-Yamamoto and Smith of Elizabeth Brown’s mystical “Augury” (1987), a quirky five-movement work for flute and guitar. Each movement musically represents a different method of fortune-telling, inventively mixing various guitar effects and a simple tonal language with a few dissonances added for spice.

A piece for alto flute and guitar, Takemitsu’s “Toward the Sea,” (1981) demonstrates a less convincing, more routine usage of the instrumental combination. Three movements of tonal ostinatos proceeded calmly and uneventfully in another fine performance by Mochizuki-Yamamoto and Smith.

Short guitar pieces by Ponce and Albeniz received masterful, insightful readings by Smith. Awaya performed Yatsuhashi Kengyo’s koto piece from the 17th Century, “Midare,” with exceptional exuberance and precision. Kazuo Fukushima’s meditative “Mei” (1962) for solo flute displayed several techniques common in shakuhachi music, such as pitch bending and overblowing, which Mochizuki-Yamamoto performed with refinement, avoiding gimmickry.

“Izumi” and “Haru No Umi” for flute--originally shakuhachi-- and koto by early 20th-Century koto master Michio Miyagi completed the program with confident, pleasant performances of each.

An encore, the Allegro from Bach’s Flute Sonata in C, was executed more quickly than could be comfortably played, but it still provided satisfying moments.