This piece was commissioned by the New Japan Philharmonic for its 651st subscription concerts, held at Sumida Triphony Hall on September 9 and Suntory Hall on September 11, 2023. It was composed to be performed before I conducted Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. The symphony, comprising five movements and lasting approximately 70 minutes, is a large-scale work. The fourth-movement Adagietto is particularly famous, having been featured in the film Death in Venice, and it is one of the most popular of Mahler’s symphonies.

Naturally, I was aware of this when I began composing at the end of July 2023. It was a challenging period, as I had just completed three different programs with three different orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra, and was quite exhausted. Despite these challenges, I managed to finish most of the composition by August 10, working from a studio outside of Tokyo. I then completed the final touches in Tokyo, finishing the piece on August 15. The speed at which the composition came together was remarkable, and I can only consider myself very fortunate.

I vaguely envisioned writing a “Hisaishi version of Mahler’s Adagietto,” though ultimately, I simply aimed to compose a piece at a slower tempo.

Minimalist compositions typically emphasize rhythm, making slow tempos less common, especially in American minimalist works. I don’t have many slow pieces in my repertoire either, so I saw this as an opportunity to challenge myself. Additionally, performing this piece alongside Mahler’s work brought a certain level of pressure. However, by focusing intently on the tasks at hand, and driven by the demanding schedule, I was able to complete the work successfully.

That said, when I looked at the finished score, I realized that the detailed notation would make it a difficult piece to perform.

The instrumentation is almost identical to Mahler’s Adagietto, featuring harps and strings, though my piece includes one additional harp. The composition is about 12 1/2 minutes long. The opening harp motif, a semitone higher than Mahler’s, is a direct homage to his work, used, of course, with great respect.

While I aimed for a logical structure, I hope that the result is a generous ode to nature and humanity, and also a prayer. ―Joe Hisaishi