Wandering and Running on the hills for Guitar Op.236 Composed by Kohei Kondo

The 69th Tokyo International Guitar Competition 2026 Compulsory piece of Final round

Experience the serene beauty of mountain wandering and the exhilarating rush of trail running in this two-movement work

Contents:

1. Wandering -- A musical journey of leisurely mountain exploration, evoking ridges, valleys, and hidden landscapes. (4'10")

2. Trail Running -- A dynamic and rhythmic portrayal of running freely through mountain trails, rivers, and fields. (5'15")

Total duration: approx. 10 minutes

Introduction:
Wandering means to walk freely as you please, rather than walking with a specific destination in mind. There is a way to enjoy wandering around a particular region or mountain range. In the case of a mountain, instead of aiming for the summit on a single trail, you can enjoy exploring and discovering interesting places in every corner of the mountain by walking along various ridges, valleys, mountain grasslands, interesting places on the foothills or mountainside, back roads, and other places from the base to the summit. In my case, I have been walking around the mountains of Rokko and Nose (in Hyogo and Osaka prefecture, Japan), which are close to my home, since I was a child. Each mountain range has its own character, distinctive geology, topography, and vegetation, and there are things in common no matter which route you take, such as the way the roads are made in that region and the style of mountain work. In Rokko, there is white sand made of granite and pine trees, and in the mountains of the Hokuriku region, there are trees buried in deep snow and blown by the north wind. In the Kitayama area of Kyoto, there are traces of mountain work such as charcoal burning and reforestation deep inside. As a result, the soundscape in the mountains is also unique.

In the first movement "Wandering," it's like walking around a unique mountain range, and the overall movement has sounds and patterns that are like the characteristics of that mountain range, and it's music that you can enjoy by walking slowly or running a little.

The second movement is " Trail Running." When you run, you feel like you're going faster and further across mountains and rivers. In recent years, more people have started enjoying trail running. Even on the same mountain, the scenery changes when you run. Trail running, where you run while instantly deciding where to place your feet while looking at the stones and roots under your feet, the steps and slipperyness, has a different pleasure from running on flat ground, as the rhythm of your body stretches and changes as you run through it while flexibly changing your stride length and direction. I wanted to write music that would allow the performer to enjoy the pleasure of becoming an animal and running around the mountains and fields, evoking the wildness.


Kohei KONDO --- Composer
Japanese composer. He won 2nd Prize at the composing competition “Klang der Welt Ostasien” of Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2010. He composed many works including piano concerto (premiered by Maya FUKUMURA), guitar concerto (premiered by Gaku YAMADA), vibraphone concerto (premiered by Mizuki AITA),marimba concerto (premiered by Kana OMORI),various chamber music, vocal works and many solo compositions for various instruments and piano works. Especially his piano works for left hand are often performed by famous pianists including Izumi TATENO and Takeo TCHINAI. In 2014, Izumi TATENO performed "Snow on the seashore- In memoriam of the victims of the earthquake and the tsunami Op.122" in Berlin Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal. Members of Budapest Festival Orchestra performed "Concerto for Violin and Percussions Op.110"in Sunday Chamber Music Concert in 2015. In 2016, Kondo Festival held in Arizona by Tandem Duo and their friends. “Prayer on the seashore. In memoriam of victims of earthquake and nuclear reactors.Op.121” (2011) was performed over 150 times by many musicians in the world. In 2024 Japanese pianist Kotaro FUKUMA performed his composition in Paris and Köln. He composed music for film “Left of Chopin” 202 1(movie director Yoshino TAKEMOTO).

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