Crystalline / Karen Tanaka (1988)
 

    This piece is constructed from seven short parts. B flat and E are used as axes throughout the work. A glassy, solid sound is required: like a cold, crystal sound sculpture. Since I composed Crystalline in 1988 I have wanted to project the image of crystal onto sound. A link and a further development from Crystalline can be seen in the later pieces: Hommage en Cristal (1991) for solo piano and strings, Metallic Crystal (1994–95) for solo percussionist and computer, Crystalline II (1995) and Crystalline III (2000) for solo piano.
    - Karen Tanaka

 
   Born in Tokyo, Karen Tanaka’s musical education included formal composition lessons from the age of ten, and she later studied with Akira Miyoshi, Tristan Murail at IRCAM, and Luciano Berio. A series of important commissions from Japan in the 1990s confirmed her as one of the leading living composers from that country. During the same period, there were increasing performances and broadcasts around the world including the UK, USA, France, Scandinavia and five ISCM festivals. Since 2000, she has had commissions from the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Karen Tanaka is currently Visiting Associate Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara.