Fumio Yasuda (left) and Nobuyoshi Araki

For those with little knowledge of Japanese classical music, the new work, Kakyoku (on Germany's progressive Winter&Winter label) by emerging composer Fumio Yasuda is the perfect place to begin one's explorations. The album represents the most recent fruit of Yasuda's ongoing collaboration with Japan's most famous photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki, and features Araki's artwork on the album sleeve. Composed for the latest in Araki's series of Arakinema film works, also titled Kakyoku (Flower songs), the post-romantic score is performed by the European Art Orchestra from Stuttgart with soloists Yasuda on piano and Ernst Reijseger on cello.

In contrast to the atonality and often-challenging tenor of much of today's classical music, Yasuda's score is remarkably accessible. At times recalling the Impressionism of post-romantic composers such as Debussy, Kakyoku sweeps from the tense expressionism of the five "Death Sentiment" compositions, to the robust, invigorating strings of "Tango for November." As Araki comments, "Yasuda's music is sometimes sentimental and sometimes almost insane. It has a way of getting under one's skin and touching both body and soul." Yasuda, who began composing at age 17 before entering the elite Kunitachi College of Music, has released numerous works on the Pony Canyon label, and in recent years has seen his compositions performed from Vienna to Taipei.