For this work, I was asked to base my idea on risk management, a subject I knew nothing about. Consequently I had to study the subject a lot. I also found out that my good friend was actually a professional risk management expert. He recommended many books on the subject. The concept that attracted me the most in these books, was that toddlers are risk management experts! When trying to walk for the first time they do so knowing they will definitely fall over but the curiosity and imagined joy of walking is greater and so the toddler tries, having assessed all of the risks. Because of this, humans can walk on two feet.
The piece has a microscopic point of view, and a universal theme, but also is based on an exact toddler, my daughter Mina who was 19 months old when I finished writing this piece.
The first section expresses the micro expressions of the toddler trying to walk. Joy and excitement as well as worry and shock. As you can see in a toddler's face, these expressions change very fast. Also, I based the work on my daughter's demeanour when you can't tell what she's feeling, as if she's moving from one emotion to another.
In the second section of the piece, she tries to walk. The work accelerates and then suddenly slows down, in a haltering way which is full of joy. The next section of the piece is based on dreaming. The toddler often develops whilst sleeping. Each morning my daughter surprises me, as she can do things which she couldn't the day before, like climbing up the chair or jumping, or walking. By the last section, she has learnt to walk and can run. Actually this is the situation where my daughter was as I finished this work. In the small room where I composed this work, she was running from corner to corner, sometimes she was outside of the room so I could only hear her footsteps coming towards me. Sometimes there was a mysterious silence. Sometimes some sort of noise then cries as she tried something new, like climbing a chair, but couldn't fully execute her plan. Therefore this work is a musical exploration of how a toddler, a risk management expert, develops.
Dai Fujikura (edited by Harry Ross)