Starry Sky Cycle
Southern Sky
Urmas Sisask : Starry Sky Cycle No. 2
Southern Sky Op. 52
CD 1
Chapter I Aboriginal Thought about the Starry Sky
① Chamaeleon (Chameleon）: Swarming
② Octans (Octant) : Stagnation
Chapter Ⅱ Aboriginal Myth: “Little Mother Uldanami”
③ Mensa (Table Mountain) : Bushfire - Clearing
④ Volans (Flying Fish) : Transformations
Chapter Ⅲ Aboriginal Myth: “The Origin of Fire and the Hunters”
⑤ Centaurus (Centaur) : Enlightenment
⑥ Crux (Southern Cross) : Nightmare
⑦ Musca (Fly) : Liberation
Chapter Ⅳ Greek Mythology: “The River Eridanus”
⑧ Eridanus (River Eridanus) : Progression - Dematerialization "Journey Beyond the Rainbow"
Chapter Ⅴ Aboriginal Myth: “The Rainbow Serpent”
⑨ Hydrus (Water Snake) : Sharp Contrasts
⑩ Pavo (Peacock) : “Fishes” — The Law of the Unity and Struggle Between Opposites
⑪ Triangulum (Triangle) : Isosceles Contrast
Chapter Ⅵ Aboriginal Myth: “Mopadits and Black Cockatoos”
⑫ Circinus (Compasses) : Brownian Motion
⑬ Apus (Bird of Paradise) : Reconciliation
CD 2
Chapter Ⅶ Greek Myth: “The Argonauts” (Three Fragments of Argo Navis)
⑭ Puppis (Stern / part of Argo Navis) : Stillness
⑮ Vela (Sails / part of Argo Navis) : Storm
⑯ Carina (Keel / part of Argo Navis) : A Gust of Wind
Chapter Ⅷ Aboriginal Myth: “The Coalsack Nebula”
A Galactic Fantasy in Four Parts
⑰ 1. The Large Magellanic Cloud
⑱ 2. The Small Magellanic Cloud
⑲ 3. The Coalsack Nebula
⑳ 4. The Jewel Box Cluster
⑲ 3. The Coalsack Nebula
⑳ 4. The Jewel Box Cluster
Chapter Ⅸ Aboriginal Myth: “Inua’s Ladder”
㉑ Tucana (Toucan) : Straying
㉒ Indus (Indian) : Visions — Dancing Spirits
Chapter Ⅹ Aboriginal Myth: “The Man in the Milky Way”
㉓ Ara (Altar) : Exuberance
㉔ Dorado (Swordfish) : Delight in the Mist
Chapter Ⅺ Cycle of Life
㉕ Horologium (Clock) : Expansion
㉖ Reticulum (Reticle) : Eternity — Fading into Eternity
Constellations Surrounding the South Celestial Pole
Let us take a look at the constellations, the Magellanic Clouds, the Coalsack Nebula, and the Jewel Box Cluster featured in Starry Sky Cycle – The Southern Sky, all seen around the south celestial pole.
The star map on the central spread is based on Urmas Sisask’s own constellation sketches, which appear alongside each piece.
Among the southern constellations, the most representative is Crux, the Southern Cross—the smallest of the 88 constellations. Known since around the 3rd century BC, it has long served as a guide for sailors, who prayed for safe voyages upon seeing its cross-shaped figure in the sky.
Many southern constellations are named after inventions and tools from the Age of Discovery, or after living creatures unknown in Europe: Table Mountain in South Africa, the Bird of Paradise from New Guinea, the Peacock native to India, the large-billed Toucan of South America, and the Chameleon, among others.
Though these constellations may seem unfamiliar, I hope that readers will enjoy rediscovering their presence through Sisask’s music and the stories behind it.
Urmas Sisask and the Starry Sky Cycle
At the age of fourteen, Urmas Sisask composed his first constellation piece, Cassiopeia, while surrounded by the vast glow of the Milky Way. This experience inspired his lifelong dream—to write music for all eighty-eight constellations in the sky. Over more than forty years, he has created numerous works inspired by stars and galaxies.
At the center of his wide-ranging creative output stands his life’s work: the piano cycle Starry Sky Cycle.
The second volume, Southern Sky, Op. 52, recorded here, was begun in 1993—six years after Northern Sky, Op. 10—and completed in 1995. It was followed by the third cycle for two pianos, An Ancient Estonian Sky, Op. 94 (2004), and the fourth, Equatorial Sky, Op. 155 (2016), which was dedicated to Takahiro Akiba and Yuko Yoshioka.
In 2018, the monumental Starry Sky Cycle reached completion with its fifth volume, Northern Polar Sky, Op. 160—eighty-eight pieces representing all eighty-eight constellations.
In each collection, Sisask integrates myths and legends from the regions where those constellations can actually be observed, transforming them into music through his own imaginative vision. For Sisask—who continues to observe the heavens almost every night—watching the stars means learning everything about them: their myths, their stories, and the ways people around the world have related to the cosmos.
Composition and Performance History of The Southern Sky
According to Sisask’s own manuscript notes, the first constellation from the Southern Sky that he worked on was Indus, completed in January 1993 in Jäneda. During his visit to Sydney, Australia, from January to early February 1994, he composed four additional pieces—Hydrus, Chamaeleon, Octans, and Mensa—marking the true beginning of the composition of Starry Sky Cycle II: Southern Sky.
Later that same year, Sisask established the Musical Observatory Tower in Jäneda, which became the base of his creative activity. After returning from Australia, he spent a full year there completing Southern Sky. The world premiere took place in 1995 in Estonia, performed by pianist Lauri Väinmaa, who later released the first recording of the work in 2001.
In Australia, the chamber version of Southern Sky (arranged by Michael Sollis) was performed in March 2012 at the site of the Mount Stromlo Observatory near Canberra—destroyed by bushfires in 2003—in collaboration with the renowned astronomer Fred Watson. The event drew considerable attention. Coincidentally, the observatory was a place of special inspiration for Sisask; just a week before the fire, he had performed Southern Sky in Estonia, dedicating it to the people of Canberra.
The Japanese premiere took place in 2005, performed by pianists Takahiro Akiba and Yuko Yoshioka with narration by actor Hiromichi Takagi. In 2014, Yoshioka and Sisask presented a full performance and talk session at Eivere, Estonia. That same year, a complete performance was held at KIWA Futakotamagawa in Tokyo, featuring star images by astrophotographer Tetsuo Aruga, narration by Takagi, and piano performance by Yoshioka.
This album serves as a sequel to Starry Sky Cycle I: Northern Sky (released in 2011), but was recorded under a different acoustic environment.
Aboriginal Dreamtime and The Southern Sky
The Indigenous people of Australia, the Aboriginal Australians, call the realm of myth, the origin of life, the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the afterlife “Dreamtime.” They live in deep spiritual awareness, constantly sensing the invisible flow of energy that connects all living things.
During his visit to Australia, Urmas Sisask observed Aboriginal people firsthand, and it seems that this encounter awakened within him a profound inspiration for mysterious new sounds. Fascinated by the didgeridoo—the world’s oldest wind instrument, made from the trunk of a eucalyptus tree—Sisask brought one back to Estonia and occasionally played it himself at performances of Southern Sky as an interlude.
The low, resonant waves of the didgeridoo, said to be “the sound of the universe” or “a sound that opens a path to the cosmos,” also seem to appear in parts of Southern Sky as ostinato figures. It is intriguing that the first piece he composed in Sydney was Hydrus, the Water Snake. In Aboriginal mythology, this constellation represents the Rainbow Serpent, the supreme creator of the world—surely a powerful source of inspiration for Sisask.
One can easily imagine him under the same unchanging, star-filled sky that has shone since ancient times, joyfully transforming his journey into the otherworldly Dreamtime into music.
During his visit to Australia, Urmas Sisask observed Aboriginal people firsthand, and it seems that this encounter awakened within him a profound inspiration for mysterious new sounds. Fascinated by the didgeridoo—the world’s oldest wind instrument, made from the trunk of a eucalyptus tree—Sisask brought one back to Estonia and occasionally played it himself at performances of Southern Sky as an interlude.
The low, resonant waves of the didgeridoo, said to be “the sound of the universe” or “a sound that opens a path to the cosmos,” also seem to appear in parts of Southern Sky as ostinato figures. It is intriguing that the first piece he composed in Sydney was Hydrus, the Water Snake. In Aboriginal mythology, this constellation represents the Rainbow Serpent, the supreme creator of the world—surely a powerful source of inspiration for Sisask.
One can easily imagine him under the same unchanging, star-filled sky that has shone since ancient times, joyfully transforming his journey into the otherworldly Dreamtime into music.
Southern Sky consists of twenty-two constellations and ”Interlaced Galactic Fantasy in Four Parts”, divided into eleven chapters, each accompanied by a myth summary (summarized below). The constellations Eridanus, Puppis, Vela, and Carina are associated with Greek mythology, while all the others draw on Aboriginal legends. The Aboriginal myths are adapted from the anthropologist Charles P. Mountford’s The Dreamtime: Australian Aboriginal Myths (1990), though their connection with the music was conceived by Sisask himself.
The Starry Sky Cycle begins at the South Celestial Pole with Chamaeleon and Octans, continues through tales of the origin of fire from Mensa to Volans, and moves from Eridanus to Triangulum Australe with the story of the Rainbow Serpent. Passing through Circinus and Apus, whose twin-like music represents the souls of the living and the dead, one finally reaches Argo Navis, the largest constellation of the southern sky.
There, one beholds the most beautiful region of the heavens discovered during the Age of Exploration — the Magellanic Clouds, the Jewel Box, and the Coalsack Nebula shining brilliantly together. From Tucana to Dorado, the constellations form an arch across the sky; from Ara, the Altar—the gateway to heaven—to the final Reticulum, the music flows without interruption. In Reticulum, at the farthest edge of the ever-expanding universe, one may sense the souls of the departed and the eternal cycle of life.
Composition Techniques and Extended Piano Techniques
Originally, a constellation referred simply to a shape formed by stars, but today it denotes a much broader region that includes surrounding galaxies and clusters. Based on extensive astronomical data and observation, Urmas Sisask structures his pitches and motifs to convey the starry sky itself.
In 1987, through analyzing the orbital motions of the planets in our solar system, he discovered what he called the “Planetary Scale.” Some pieces, such as Chamaeleon, sound familiar to the ear because this planetary scale happens to coincide with the Japanese pentatonic scale. In Puppis, the harmonic series appears to reflect the constellation’s eleven major stars, while from Interlaced Galactic Fantasy through to the final piece Reticulum, the governing pitch of each work descends chromatically D → C♯ → C → B → B♭ — a fascinating structural detail.
In Reticulum, after eight measures of a long silence, a single B♭ tone flickers and fades away—only to suggest that, beyond the quiet, the opening of Chamaeleon might be heard again. Its first note, A, lies just a semitone below that final B♭, implying an endless circular connection.
In performance, Southern Sky employs various extended piano techniques, including both inside-the-piano methods and special keyboard actions. These involve striking, plucking, or performing a glissando directly on the strings (see photo); making silent but visually accurate hand motions on the indicated keys (see score example); intentionally producing audible pedal-change sounds (in Pisces and Horologium); and playing tone clusters by striking multiple keys with the palm.
Plucking the strings
Playing the keys while pressing the strings
Striking the strings
From the final page of “Reticulum”
× marks indicate that the playing motion is made without producing sound.
（＊marks may also be played with the left hand.）
（＊marks may also be played with the left hand.）
©︎2002 by edition49 Karlsruhe, Germany
For Sisask, who envisions a vast cosmic keyboard far beyond the piano’s 88 keys, touching the instrument is like opening a gateway to the universe—where he transforms the very presence of the stars into sound. Through performance, music and myth merge into one — perhaps becoming the very image of the starry sky that both the Aboriginal people and Sisask sought to express.
Accompanying Stories
Preface
Compared with the northern sky, the southern sky contains fewer conspicuous constellations, making them more difficult to memorize. In this cycle, both naked-eye observations—such as the Coalsack Nebula in Crux and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds—and telescopic observations—such as the open clusters in Centaurus and Tucana, and the Jewel Box Cluster in Crux—serve as the foundation of composition.
Rather than depicting imaginary constellations, the music reflects the officially defined regions established by astronomers. While some pieces share similar musical impressions in part, each has a distinctly different musical character.
Chapter I
Aboriginal Thought about the Starry Sky
Swarming (Chamaeleon)
Stagnation (Octans)
The Aboriginal people of Australia know the origins of all the stars. In the age of creation, when great cataclysms shook the earth and sky, humans and animals sought refuge by leaping into the heavens, where they became stars. The Sun is believed to be a woman, the Moon a man, and a shooting star the vessel that carries the souls of the dead to the other world.
The small triangle of Octans is a constellation of mystery, indicating the South Celestial Pole. Though its small triangular shape is barely visible to the naked eye, it hardly changes its position — just like the North Star in the northern sky.
In contrast, Chamaeleon constantly circles around this pole. One may look for its small, slender shape, resembling a tiny boat.
Chapter Ⅱ
Aboriginal Myth: “Little Mother Uldanami”
Bushfire — Clearing (Mensa)
Transformations (Volans)
One day, the two sons of Uldanami were burned to death in a bushfire.
Each night, their mother wandered in grief, crying as she searched for them.
Her spirit was eventually transformed into a curlew (a long-billed shorebird).
Near the Large Magellanic Cloud—glowing like the fire that took her sons—lies Mensa.
The small and beautiful constellation Volans seems like little Mother Uldanami herself, flying about in search of her lost children.
Perhaps, if her voice were to reach them beyond the flames, her sons would return once more.
Perhaps, if her voice were to reach them beyond the flames, her sons would return once more.
Chapter Ⅲ
Aboriginal Myth: “The Origin of Fire and the Hunters
”Enlightenment (Centaurus)
Nightmare (Musca)
Liberation (Crux)
In the time when there was still no fire on Earth, it belonged to two brothers who lived in the heavenly kingdom. Their camp lay near Crux, the Southern Cross, and the two brightest stars of Centaurus were their blazing watchfires.
One day, the brothers descended to Earth and went hunting, leaving their firesticks behind. During their absence, the sticks ran wild, setting the land ablaze with great flames. The Aboriginal people, seeing fire for the first time, never forgot that sight — and even now, when they look upon the Southern Cross, they remember the fire.
Another legend tells that the brothers once caught a cassowary, the fire-eating bird, and were preparing to roast it when a great swarm of flies attacked. As they tried to drive them away, they threw fire into the air, and a strong wind arose, spreading the flames into a vast bushfire. The brothers climbed a rocky mountain to escape, but the fire surrounded them. At last, with no refuge left, they leapt into the sky.
Musca resembles a weak and flickering fire, while Crux, the Southern Cross, shines in striking contrast beside it.
These two constellations remind us of how fire, both fragile and powerful, has long been intertwined with human life.
Chapter Ⅳ
Greek Mythology: “The River Eridanus”
Progression—Dematarialisation "Journey Beyond the Rainbow" (Eridanus)
According to Greek mythology, the son of Helios, the Sun God, was struck down by Zeus for his own reckless failure. His grieving sisters’ tears fell into the River Eridanus—identified with Italy’s longest river, the Po—and were transformed into amber. To comfort his sorrowful father, Helios, the son was raised into the heavens along with the river itself.
At the southern end of the river shines Achernar, whose name means “End of the River.” Another star, Zaurak, meaning “The Boat Star,” is said to have supported Orion’s left foot as he journeyed toward Achernar to meet the Rainbow Serpent of Aboriginal legend.
Chapter Ⅴ
Aboriginal Myth: “The Rainbow Serpent”
Sharp Contrasts (Hydrus)
“Fishes” — The Law of the Unity and Struggle Between Opposites (Pavo)
Isosceles Contrast (Triangulum Australe)
For the Aboriginal people, the Rainbow Serpent is a sacred being.
It clothed humankind, taught them to speak, sing, dance, perform rituals, and to hunt using the boomerang and the didgeridoo.
Beneath Achernar, the brightest star in Eridanus, lies Hydrus, which they see as the body of the Rainbow Serpent.
One story tells that during a violent thunderstorm, the Rainbow Serpent offered its mouth as a refuge to Aboriginal people fleeing the storm. However, it accidentally swallowed them, and a conflict arose between the two.
One story tells that during a violent thunderstorm, the Rainbow Serpent offered its mouth as a refuge to Aboriginal people fleeing the storm. However, it accidentally swallowed them, and a conflict arose between the two.
In Pavo, a vast constellation scattered with many stars, the law of the unity and struggle between opposites is expressed through fleeting moments of misunderstanding ― tones that sound almost like mistaken notes, one even marked “Fish.”
In Triangulum Australe, the isosceles triangle forming the constellation is represented through the number of beats, and by inserting a regilaul (an ancient Estonian folk song) in the latter half of the base section, the presence of the star Epsilon also becomes evident.
Chapter Ⅵ
Aboriginal Myth: “Mopadits and Black Cockatoos”
Brownian Motion (Circinus)
Reconciliation (Apus)
In the Milky Way lies the constellation Circinus, representing the world of all living beings. Between the Milky Way and the South Celestial Pole, in a region where few stars can be seen, lies Apus, said to be the realm of ancestral spirits.
Mopadits are the souls of the dead. After death, a person’s spirit remains near the grave until the funeral rites are completed. Then, accompanied by a flock of black cockatoos, it journeys to the heavens. It is believed that Mopadits grow young again and find happiness, sometimes returning to visit their friends — though no one has ever seen a Mopadits bearing its former appearance. The bird of paradise, Apus, is said to guide humans and animals alike from the earthly world to the other realm.
The piece inspired by Circinus portrays the human world with its constant chaotic activity, while in Apus, the realm of souls seeking reconciliation with the universe and eternity is depicted.
Chapter Ⅶ
Greek Myth: “The Argonauts” (Three Fragments of Argo Navis)
Stillness (Puppis)
Storm (Vela)
A Gust of Wind (Carina)
From the left of Canis Major toward Crux, a grand sequence of stars slanting along the Milky Way once formed a single vast constellation known as Argo Navis, the Ship Argo. Today it is divided into three parts — Puppis (the Stern), Vela (the Sails), and Carina (the Keel).
According to Greek mythology, in a small forest on the coast of the Black Sea, in the land of the Caucasus, there was hidden the Golden Fleece, guarded by a dragon that never closed its eyes and never slept — though the treasure itself belonged originally to Greece. To reclaim it, fifty brave heroes gathered from across the Greek world and, under the leadership of Jason, undertook a long and perilous voyage. A craftsman named Argus, under the guidance of the goddess Athena, built a ship that was named Argo, and its crew were called the Argonauts.
They began their voyage aboard the Argo, sailing across seas inhabited by man-eating women and monsters who controlled the currents. On their way, they slipped through straits where cliffs shattered around them, and at last reached the forest where the Golden Fleece was hidden.
The king of the Caucasus set Jason a series of trials and was unwilling to give up the Golden Fleece. However, Princess Medea granted Jason superhuman strength, enabling him to complete the tasks. When he took the Fleece, Medea cast a spell that put the dragon guarding it to sleep, allowing Jason to return safely to Greece.
Chapter Ⅷ
Aboriginal Myth: “The Coalsack Nebula”
A Galactic Fantasy in Four Parts
I. The Large Magellanic Cloud
II. The Small Magellanic Cloud
III. The Coalsack Nebula
IV. The Jewel Box
III. The Coalsack Nebula
IV. The Jewel Box
In the early 16th century, the navigator Antonio Pigafetta, who sailed with Magellan, discovered two unusual clouds that did not move with the wind. Today, these are known as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds—galaxies said to be the nearest to our own Milky Way.
When one observes the region around Crux, the Southern Cross, through a telescope, one can find colorful clusters of stars forming the shape of the letter “A,” known as the Jewel Box. Although the stars lie at different distances from us, they seem to have gathered there by coincidence. Near the Jewel Box lies a very dark area called the Coalsack Nebula, which can even be seen with the naked eye.
According to one legend, it was once the soul of a sinful woman who was scorched and turned into a blackened fish in the fires of the stars Acrux and Mimosa of the Southern Cross.
Another story tells that long ago, there lived a cassowary wife and her cat husband. One day, when the husband went out hunting, a visiting wombat seduced the wife. When the husband returned and discovered what had happened, he was consumed by jealousy and threw his wife into the flames. But she flew straight upward into the sky, out of the fire—and became the Coalsack Nebula.
Chapter Ⅸ
Aboriginal Myth: “Inua’s Ladder”
Straying (Tucana)
Visions — Dancing Spirits (Indus)
Visions — Dancing Spirits (Indus)
Tucana, Indus, Ara, and Dorado each occupy different positions in the sky, yet together they form a long celestial ladder stretching from the Milky Way beneath Scorpius, through the Small Magellanic Cloud, to the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Long ago, Old Opossum Man Kapili lived with his two crow-wives and their brother near the shores of Arnhem Land. One day, after a quarrel over food, he left home, and in his absence the crows caught many fish, scattering their bones everywhere. When he returned, weary and hungry, the sisters mocked him and burned him with embers as he slept. In pain, Kapili rushed into the sea, while the terrified women fled to the forest. Not wishing to take part in the quarrel, Inua built a ladder from the scattered fish bones and climbed to the heavens. Later, hearing that Kapili had slain his sisters, he descended again and buried them among the stars.
Since then, the crow-women and their brother have appeared as faint stars — or dancing spirits — straying near Ara and resting safely by the Magellanic Clouds, away from Kapili’s revenge.
Chapter Ⅹ
Aboriginal Myth: “The Man in the Milky Way”
Exuberance (Ara)
Delight in the Mist (Dorado)
Delight in the Mist (Dorado)
On Melville Island, it is said that in ancient times, the men of the Maludaian tribe, though they had wives, would often go into the bush with other women. Their behavior caused jealousy and endless quarrels until a fight broke out and several men were killed. After that, the men of the tribe ascended to heaven and became the Milky Way, while the women became bright stars.
When Wuriupranala, the Sun-woman, disappears beyond the horizon at night and the light of her torch is quenched, the men of the Milky Way journey across the sky to visit their wives. Each evening, the men of the Maludaian tribe wipe the sweat from their bodies, and the droplets fall upon the eyelids of the Aborigines, making them heavy until they fall asleep beneath their simple bark coverings. At dawn, as the stars of the Milky Way begin to fade and the first rays of the Sun-woman appear in the east, the gentle, melodious song of Tukumbini, the honeyeater, awakens the Aborigines to a new day’s work.
Chapter Ⅺ
Cycle of Life
Expansion (Horologium)
Eternity—Fading into Eternity (Reticulum)
Cycle of Life
Expansion (Horologium)
Eternity—Fading into Eternity (Reticulum)
The final two pieces were composed while viewing the snake-like constellation Horologium (the Clock) and the small rhombic Reticulum (the Reticle) beside it. Located between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, these constellations evoke the cycle of life.
The great ancestors created every rock, river, tree, and mountain that now form the landscape of Australia. After the age of Creation, some remained on Earth, others left their images in cave paintings, and many journeyed to the heavens, where they still watch over their successors.
They taught the Aborigines everything they needed to live in harmony with one another and with the great nature ― with its birds, plants, and animals ― and also passed down the ceremonies through which boys come of age, so that they might become wise and trustworthy leaders well versed in the sacred law.
The ancestors left behind sacred cult sites and objects imbued with their power ― the essence of life itself ― entrusted to the care of tribal leaders. The vital energy, passed on from generation to generation, grows into tremendous force that extends into the future.
Urmas Sisask
Estonian composer and amateur astronomer. Born in Rapla, Estonia, in 1960. He studied composition under Professor René Eespere at the Tallinn Conservatory (now the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre), graduating in 1985. Afterward, he lived and worked in Jäneda until 1998.
In 1994, he established the Tower of Music and Stars in the manor house there. Sisask’s music spans a remarkable variety of genres ― from piano works, choral and orchestral compositions, to film and stage music. Among his numerous sacred works, Gloria Patri (1988) stands as one of his best-known achievements.
His first composition, Cassiopeia, was composed in childhood as an improvisation inspired by the grandeur of the Milky Way. Since then, the universe has remained his inexhaustible source of inspiration. Sisask has expressed the music of the cosmos through two approaches: one “intuitive,” drawing upon astronomical knowledge and direct observation of the stars; and another “mathematical.”
In 1987, by analyzing the movements of the planets in the solar system, he discovered the tone series C♯–D–F♯–G♯–A ― coincidentally identical to the Japanese pentatonic scale. This sequence became the melodic and harmonic foundation of many of his works. Around the same time, during Estonia’s Singing Revolution (1987–1991), his fascination with shamanism deepened, and he often incorporated the shaman drum into his own performances. Nearly all of Sisask’s instrumental works, especially his piano compositions, bear titles related to the cosmos.
His major piano works include:
Starry Sky Cycle – Northern Sky (1987)
Milky Way for four hands (1990)
Andromeda Galaxy, Sonata for two pianos eight hands (1991)
Zodiac (1994)
Starry Sky Cycle – Southern Sky (1995)
Heavenly Hexagon (1996)
Spiral Symphony for four hands (1999)
Voices of the Universe for four pianos sixteen hands (2002)
Starry Sky Cycle – An Ancient Estonian Sky for two pianos (2004)
Sombrero Galaxy for four hands (2008)
Piano Concerto "Total Solar Eclipse" (2011)
Stars of Eivere for the left hand (2013)
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand Quasar (2015)
Starry Sky Cycle – Equatorial Sky (2016)
Yuko Yoshioka, piano
Yuko Yoshioka graduated from Musashino Academia Musicae and its Graduate School in Tokyo. She studied piano with Sazare Fukumoto, Kyoko Nagashima, Gerhard Berge, Max Martin Stein, Shoichi Yamada, and Erzsébet Tusa; piano duo performance with Henriette Puig-Roget; and chamber music with Marguerite Frances. She continued her artistic training through masterclasses at the Viktorinck Musikforum (Austria), the Verbier Festival (Switzerland), and the Chopin Music Academy (Poland).
In 1992, she won Second Prize at the 1st All Japan French Music Competition organized by the Japan Performers’ Association. Following her debut recital at Bario Hall in 1995, she has given regular solo recitals. At music festivals in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (1995 and 1997), she performed concertos for two pianos by Mozart and Poulenc with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra.
Since 1997, she has presented a long-running “Talk & Concert” series at the Yatsugatake Kogen Music Hall, collaborating with astrophotographer Tetsuo Aruga and many leading wind and string players in nearly eighty performances.
Since 2015, she has continued her recital series “Mozart and Chopin” on a Pleyel piano at Atelier Mistral in Takasaki, Japan.
Since 2015, she has continued her recital series “Mozart and Chopin” on a Pleyel piano at Atelier Mistral in Takasaki, Japan.
After visiting composer Urmas Sisask in Jäneda, Estonia, in 2005, Yoshioka developed a close friendship with him and has given numerous Japanese premieres of his piano and chamber works. In 2011, she released her first CD album, Urmas Sisask: Starry Sky Cycle – Northern Sky, which received critical acclaim and was featured in Tenmon Guide magazine and on Estonian Klassika Raadio. In 2014, she was invited to the 2nd Eivere International Piano Festival in Estonia, performing the complete Starry Sky Cycle – Southern Sky in collaboration with Sisask and teaching a masterclass. In 2015, she appeared in the concert “Urmas Sisask: The Man Who Listens to the Stars – Izumi Tateno and His Friends” at Yomiuri Otemachi Hall, celebrating Sisask’s first visit to Japan.
In addition to her performing career, Yoshioka teaches piano at the Music Department of Saitama Prefectural Omiya Koryo High School, where she continues to mentor and inspire young musicians.
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Production Credits
Produced by: OASIS Co., Ltd.
Director: Yoshiyuki Kanamori
Recording Engineer: Yoshihiro Yamaguchi
Mastering Engineer: Mitsukazu Tanaka
Technical Assistance: Moe Kazama
Piano: Bösendorfer No. 275
Tuning: Osamu Mochizuki
Cover Photo: Tetsuo Aruga
Photography: Yoshiyuki Kanamori
Director: Yoshiyuki Kanamori
Recording Engineer: Yoshihiro Yamaguchi
Mastering Engineer: Mitsukazu Tanaka
Technical Assistance: Moe Kazama
Piano: Bösendorfer No. 275
Tuning: Osamu Mochizuki
Cover Photo: Tetsuo Aruga
Photography: Yoshiyuki Kanamori
Commentary and Star Charts: Yuko Yoshioka
Layout Design: Ayako Chiba
Recording Dates: May 12–13, 2017
Recording Venue: Hanakage Hall, Yamanashi City
Layout Design: Ayako Chiba
Recording Dates: May 12–13, 2017
Recording Venue: Hanakage Hall, Yamanashi City
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Editorial Note (Revised Edition)
This English version has been lightly revised from the 2018 liner-note translation to correct terminology and standardize names. The aim is clarity and accuracy—not to alter Sisask’s intent or the substance of the original Japanese text. (Yuko Yoshioka)
From the Performer（From Website）
For me, Starry Sky Cycle – Southern Sky was the work that led me to explore Sisask’s universe in earnest. It was, in fact, the first of his large-scale cycles that I had the opportunity to perform in its entirety.
In August 2014, I reunited with Urmas Sisask after nine years at the 2nd Eivere International Piano Festival in Estonia. Together we presented a collaborative concert featuring the complete Southern Sky Cycle. Sisask served as narrator, performed on the Aboriginal didgeridoo, and joined me for the finale of his Spiral Symphony for piano duet. The concert concluded with his solo performance of Cassiopeia — a memorable and inspiring evening.
Six years passed after the release of Northern Sky before I finally began recording Southern Sky. The decision was encouraged by recording engineer Yoshiyuki Kanamori, who had also worked on the first album; by piano technician Osamu Mochizuki, who maintains the Bösendorfer #275 at Hanakage Hall in Yamanashi City; and by the hall’s beautiful acoustics, which I felt were ideally suited to Sisask’s sound world.
The cover photograph, taken by astrophotographer Tetsuo Aruga, is the same image used for the flyer of the Japanese premiere of this work in 2005. Over the years, I have collaborated with Mr. Aruga on numerous Starry Sky Cycle concerts and programs featuring Sisask’s works — often accompanied by his star imagery and commentary. The cover photo of Northern Sky was also taken by him.
This recording was made under different acoustic conditions from the previous album. Making full use of Hanakage Hall’s rich resonance, we placed microphones inside the piano to capture the delicate tones of the internal playing techniques often used in this cycle. No artificial reverb was added in post-production.
The booklet includes summaries of the myths, Sisask’s biography, photographs showing the internal techniques, and a star chart of the Southern Sky. Sisask himself, an amateur astronomer, drew constellation sketches in each score, though their shapes sometimes differ from standard forms. For this release, I created a star map centered on the South Celestial Pole, based on Sisask’s own drawings. By tracing the relationships between constellations, I hope listeners will gain deeper interest in the sequence of pieces and the myths — Aboriginal and Greek — woven into them.
Though these constellations are invisible from the Northern Sky, I invite you to journey through the Southern Sky together with Sisask’s music. (Yuko Yoshioka)
Further Reading and Listening
For a broader overview of Starry Sky Cycle, including earlier volumes and related texts, please visit my blog:
Selected recordings from Starry Sky Cycle are also available for listening