Atsuko Kawakami Piano Recital [Tokyo]

Program

Schumann: Carnival Op. 9
SCHUMANN, R.: Carnaval, Op.

Brahms: Six Pieces Op.118
BRAHMS, J.: 6 Piano Pieces, Op.118

Brahms: Four Ballads Op. 10
BRAHMS, J.: 4 Ballades, Op.10

Profile

Atsuko Kawakami, piano
Studied under Michiko Endo and Chiharu Taguchi. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Yokohama National University. After that, he went to England and studied under Benjamin Caplan. Returned to Japan after five and a half years of study.
In 2001, he made his debut in the Japan premiere of Liszt's "Transcendence Technique Etudes 1837 Edition", which was said to be impossible to perform. Ongaku Gendai magazine praised him as a rare Liszt player.
In 2003, he performed Akira Ifukube's "Nihon Kumikyoku" and was praised by Akira Ifukube who was in attendance.
In May 2004, Akira Ifukube presented the solo piano version of "Japanese Rhapsody" to the orchestra, and the premiere was performed in his presence.
The CD "Akira Ifukube Piano Works" released in September 2012 was praised by the "Record Geijutsu" magazine as "a splendid performance that makes the most of the vitality and folklore of Ifukube's works. It has been endorsed by the composer. There is something unique about it, and it's full of nuances, and it's a majestic expression.A strong steel-like touch gives it a primitive strength that can be said to be the primordial sound of life." and selected as a special edition.
In November 2014, he was invited by the New York Tenri Cultural Association to perform a recital commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Akira Ifukube in New York.
In February 2015, he played a recital in the All List Program at the concert series sponsored by RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka. In July of the same year, he performed at the Sant Pere de Rodes Music Festival in Spain and the Mirabell Palace Concert Series in Austria.
Other major concerts include a concert of Mozart's piano sonatas in non-pedal playing based on the first manuscript ("Transparent timbre and wonderful fingering. Academically conveying the splendor of Mozart's piano music" (" Chopin magazine)), Akira Ifukube's Ritmika Ostinata with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, and a duo concert with violinist Ruth Leskowitz.
Future concert schedules include a recital at Carnegie Hall (New York) on April 28, 2016, and the premiere of Masahiro Aoyama's piano concerto in January 2017.