Kenji Ito Plays "SaGa"/ Field of Memories ~January 22nd, 2005~
Mr. Kenji Ito performed at the The Black Mages live concerts in January 2005. This is a review of his live show which was held on the 22nd of January 2005.
The stage lights came up on Kenji Ito seated at a Yamaha Grand Piano. Mr Ito's sound was to return in a new Romancing SaGa, and the atmosphere of excitement was palpable.
He began with a medley of the Overture and Opening Title from that new work, Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song. It was a magnificent performance, conveying seething power beneath a tender melody, and the entire audience was held in its thrall.
The title of the second piece was "Podorui" from Romancing SaGa 3. The sensitive dynamics Mr. Ito brought forth in his piano arrangement had charm enough to seemingly transport everyone in the hall to Podorui.
After this second piece, Mr. Ito began to address the audience, but the first thing out of his mouth was a laugh of relief. He must have been very nervous, but it hadn't shown at all in his wonderful performance, and the feeling of his laughter coursed through the audience. He then told the story of how he came to write the music for Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song. .
"About 3 years ago at Christmas, I was working at home when I got a call on my cell phone from the producer, Mr. Kawazu, and he offered me the job.", he said, relating with a smile the moment his involvement with Minstrel Song was determined. He also mentioned that he wrote more than 70 tracks for the game. "I only did 30 tracks for the previous one, but this time I had to do a lot more", he said while grinning brightly, giving a sense of the scale of the game.
He also spoke nostalgically of the old days of Square (now SQUARE-ENIX). He was the first school graduate to be hired as a composer by Nobuo Uematsu at Square. He even revealed that at that time, Mr. Uematsu didn't yet have his trademark moustache! On the swell of the storm of laughter this triggered in the audience, Mr. Ito made to play his 3rd piece.
This was a medley from SaGa 2: Legend of the Treasure. gI want to play this while thinking nostalgically of the pasth. His performance, infused with memories of Square from bygone days, created an amazing atmosphere which allowed everyone in the audience to partake of that same sweet nostalgia. The 4th and last piece he played was "What the Wind Taught Me" from the arranged Romancing SaGa 3 album, Windy Tale. The thoughts and memories everyone held for Romancing SaGa crystallized on that misty stage, and Mr. Ito's nostalgic yet fresh performance left no heart untouched.
After the performance concluded, cries of admiration and torrents of applause from everyone in the audience followed Mr. Ito's retreating figure without stopping. The 30 minutes Mr. Ito graced the stage were a moment in which his future, his talent, and his great promise could be keenly felt...
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Track List
The First Day (January 22nd)
The Second Day (January 23rd)
The 3rd Day (January 28th)
The Interview with Mr. Kenji Ito and more live phtos are also available at his English Website.