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Composer Minor Miki (born in 1930) has long championed as idiom that incorporates Japanese influences into works for western orchestra, and in this regard he has been much more successful than most of his countrymen. The world premiere of his "Pacific Rainbow": An Orchestral Ode to Akio Morita” finds him at the top of his form with a work that is not only immediately appealing but quite intricate as well. The variety of rhythm and timbre intrigues the ear with its freshness, and the work is remarkably free of the self-conscious "Japanisms" that plague so many other works in this genre.
NB. Gregory Shepherd's master's degree thesis was on contemporary Japanese composers. He has been The Advertiser's classical music critic since 1987
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