pianist
To commemorate the first anniversary of the catastrophic Japan earthquake and tsunami, you are invited to attend a memorial concert and photo exhibit on March 11, 2012, at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. It is also a fundraising event for the Japan Recovery Project sponsored by the Public Health Insitute. The concert program features compositions of Bach, Vivaldi, and Franck, as well as performances on the traditional Japanese koto instrument, and story-teller Brenda Aoki. Also, I will play the Cesar Franck violin sonata with Alexander Barantschik, concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony.
The Herbst Theatre will also present a photo exhibit by Satoshi Ueda, who comes from Rikuzen Takada in Tohoku, which was severely damaged by the disaster. Immediately after the earthquake and tsunami hit Tohoku, Mr. Ueda stopped all his professional projects in order to photograph the ruins of his decimated hometown, Rikuen Takada and record its agonizing road to recovery. Mr.Ueda, who is internationally acclaimed for his artistic accomplishments, will be present for the event.
A particular goal of this event is to raise funds to support the Japan Recovery Project for mental health services. It is incredible that the people of Tohoku managed to maintain their morale and orderliness under the stress of the catastrophe. Nevertheless, many of the Tohoku survivors are still suffering from the post-traumatic stress disorder and desperately need mental and moral support, perhaps for the remainder of their lives.
Sunday March 11, 2012
福原彰美オフィシャルサイトへようこそ
ウェブサイトを改装しました。
これから内容を充実させていこうと思います。是非またお立ち寄りください！
For the first concert of 2012, with a week’s notice, I was asked to substitute for pianist Robin Sutherland to play a recital with Alexander Barantschik, San Francisco Symphony’s concertmaster. The recital was held at Santa Rosa Junior College on January 15th. It was a fantastic way to start the new year—performing four masterpieces with an incredible artist. The program consisted of the Mozart sonata in e minor, K.304; the Beethoven sonata No.1 in D major; the Brahms sonata No.1 in G major; and the Franck sonata in A major.
Mr. Barantschik’s fine musicianship and technique was so inspiring that I totally forgot that I had taken on this recital with barely a week’s notice. Also, the audience was very supportive and enthusiastic, perhaps the warmest group of people I have ever played for. I was deeply moved to hear that during the intermission one gentleman in the audience was singing Brahms’s “Rain Song,” which is the melody from the third movement of his G major sonata.
Here is a review.
I have finally finished playing all the 2011 CHANEL Pygmalion Days solo concerts. The last one was on Nov. 19th, with a guest performer, Ko Taniguchi. And this past week, I performed in a chamber music series directed by Heiichiro Ohyama. It was so exciting to encounter new audiences in my homeland, Japan, through the Chanel Pygmalion Days concerts.
This year has been a great challenge for me to constantly arrange concert programs, while simultaneously dealing with all the disasters in Japan occurring in Japan without respite. I am truly grateful for the huge support I received from my friends and teachers in New York City and San Francisco.
Also, I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to perform for the refugees of those catastrophes, and I pray that my music helped my ravaged nation’s morale and healing. Moreover, despite all the grief and destruction of lives and property, I encountered moments of courage, sacrifice, and humanity that I never new existed.
