Dai Fujikura

Born in Osaka, Fujikura arrived in London as a teenager intending to become a film composer. His studies with Daryl Runwick at Trinity College persuaded him that music by itself could be as vivid as film, as gesturally expressive and as immediately involved with the contemporary world. So he changed tack, went on with his composition training in London with Edwin Roxburgh and George Benjamin, and began writing concert music at a bewildering pace. He made his breakthrough in 2000 when the Sinfonietta performed his Frozen Heat, a typically intense and driving score for a brass-heavy ensemble with piano. The Sinfonietta has gone on promoting his work, and he has also had works performed at the Lucerne Festival (Stream State, 2005, conducted by Pierre Boulez), the Proms (Crushing Twister, 2006), etc. He is currently working on a piece for six cellos for Boulez to conduct in Chicago, among other projects.

Fujikura’s music is bold, energetic and colourful, exciting to play and to hear. He has compared it to Japanese food, combining different tastes, sweet and salty. He has also compared his role to that of a Las Vegas stripper: this is music as exposure, glamorous and alluring.