A composer who became important to my way of thinking is Jo Kondo (Japan), who I met at the University of Victoria when he was in residence in 1980. I heard two works on recordings he had brought with him: A Shape of Time for piano and orchestra, a kaleidoscopic exploration of timbre, which astonished me - it was unlike anything I had ever heard; and Sight Rhythmics for solo piano, which one can find in a beautiful recording by pianist, Satoko Inoue.
It’s a piece I’ve listened to countless times over the years, for its strange and wonderful harmony, dancelike rhythm and elegant use of register, as well as its constant play of variation. It was in every sense a very helpful piece, a world I wanted to investigate, a place I felt I belonged.
