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[Special Essay] Dai Fujikura | Private Sketches for the orchestral work "Ocean Breaker"
What's newDec 1, 2025
In the NHK Symphony Orchestra’s Subscription Concerts Program B on December 4 (Thursday) and 5 (Friday), 2025, Dai Fujikura’s Ocean Breaker for Orchestra – In Memoriam Pierre Boulez (2025) will receive its world premiere, commissioned by the NHK Symphony Orchestra. We are delighted to share the composer’s creative sketches for this new work.
Dai Fujikura, composer
Private Sketches for the orchestral work Ocean Breaker
I must be a rather strange composer—my orchestral piece Glorious Clouds is about bacteria, and now Ocean Breaker, despite its title, is actually about clouds.The inspiration for this piece came from a book on clouds that I found in a London gift shop. It was likely intended for children, filled with beautiful illustrations of various cloud formations. But what captivated me most was a type of cloud called Fluctus. These clouds resemble ocean breakers, curling into waves when the wind above them moves significantly faster than the wind below. A rare phenomenon, apparently.
I was drawn to this image, especially because this orchestral work already had a sense of weightlessness and fluid motion. At the same time, it carries the spirit of a “concerto for orchestra”—where every instrument, even the tuba, has its moment in the spotlight. The music continuously shifts focus, passing the energy from one section to another. Melodies and phrases move at different speeds, mirroring the way Fluctus clouds take shape through contrasting wind currents.
Having written concertos for many instruments—including some rather unusual ones—I felt the time was right to create a work that celebrates the entire orchestra. Ocean Breaker is that piece: an orchestral concerto where the waves of sound surge, collide, and transform, much like the ever-changing sky.
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No. 2052 Subscription (Program B)
Thursday, December 4, 2025 7:00pm
Friday, December 5, 2025 7:00pm 7:00pm
Suntory Hall
Fujikura / Ocean Breaker for Orchestra - in memoriam Pierre Boulez (2025)[Commission Work for NHK Symphony Orchestra / World Premiere]
Franck / Variations symphoniques for Piano and Orchestra (Symphonic Variations)
Saint-Saëns / Symphony No. 3 C Minor Op. 78, Symphonie avec orgue (Organ Symphony)
Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Piano: Tom Borrow
Organ: Takeshi Kondo
