Year: 2012

“Epic Miniatures” recital

on By

Thank you for joining me for the “Epic Miniature” recital at San Francisco Conservatory last Sunday. The recital hall was filled to capacity despite the rain.

It was always a pleasure to perform for the residents of the Bay Area, as this community is a home away from home for me, and without your support I could not have survived my early years in the U.S.A. at the age of 15.

A special thanks to Mr. Jun Seita, who organized this event, and all my wonderful friends whose  support and encouragement enabled this recital to take place.

May this holiday season bring you and your families all the best, both in health and happiness.

DSC_6574

Dec. 16 at SFCM: Epic Miniatures

on By

I cordially invite you to my piano solo recital in San Francisco. This is a “sister recital” to the series which I have been playing in Tokyo since 2009, made possible by the generous support of my Bay Area friends.  It is an honor and great pleasure to play a recital in my second home— San Francisco. The concert is admission free, but any donation is greatly appreciated. So please reserve your seat as soon as possible, as I look forward to seeing you there and do say hello to me after the concert!

Piano Solo Recital: ”Epic Miniatures”

5 pm on December 16th, 2012
San Francisco Conservatory Recital Hall
50 Oak Street  San Francisco, CA 94102
Admission Free (We welcome your donations at the event)

Please join me to experience the microscopic and macroscopic genius of these musical masterpieces: Johannes Brahms’ Eight Pieces for Piano, Op. 76 (excerpt); Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana, Op. 16; Ryan A. Francis’ Moonlight Fantasy (2001), and Igor Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka. These compositions represent many styles and languages, yet they all share the unique characteristic of being constructed by collections of short compositions.

 

CHANEL Pygmalion Days

on By

今日はシャネルピグマリオンデイズで演奏させて頂きました。ホールに椅子が入りきらない程たくさんの皆様にご来場頂き、感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。

昨年、貴重な学びの機会、またたくさんのかけがえのない出会いを与えてくれた思い出いっぱいのネクサスホールに戻ってこれて、演奏を聴いて頂けて本当に幸せでした。ネクサスホールのピアノの音も、長い間会っていなかった友人と再会するかのような気持ちにさせてくれました。まさに１０ヶ月ぶりのネクサスホールだったのですが、昨年とは違った手応えを感じ、１０ヶ月とは重みのある時間なのだなと思いました。

 

お忙しい中、また遠足に行きたくなるような爽やかな秋晴れの週末に、コンサートへ足を運んで下さった皆様に心より感謝申し上げます。

今回の滞在では、１１月１日に南麻布セントレホールでランチタイムコンサートで演奏させて頂き、また１１月９日にアークヒルズクラブとシャネルピグマリオンデイズのコラボコンサートにて演奏させて頂きます。

ほっとしたいところですが気を抜かずに頑張ります！

 

Concerts at the Presidio

on By

Did you know there is a historic building inside the Presidio, called Golden Gate Club? Presidio is one of the most beautiful areas in San Francisco and I am looking forward to playing there this Thursday and Friday.

Christine Walevska Cello Recital in Huntington, New York

on By

 

Next week, I am going to New York City to play with Madam Christine Walevska, a cello legend who made numerous concerto recordings under the Philips Label in 1970’s. It is one of the highlights of my life to have met her in 2009. I had a privilege to accompany her first in New York City, and then in Japan in the spring of 2009. After the 2009 Japan tour, the Japanese Universal Music and Tower Records released the complete recordings that she made with Philips in a 5 CD boxed set. The Japan Westminster also released the live recording of one of the recitals we played in Tokyo. She is going back to Japan again next March, and I am so lucky that I will get to play with her again. We decided to do a very very early preview concert at the Mahanaim Auditorium in Huntington, New York. I did not see her for 7 long months. I have patiently waited while she spent the winter time in Argentina.

Please find the concert information below.  Thank You Yui Kitamura, my dear friend and the director of MuSE!

Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra

on By

I had a fantastic time playing Beethoven’s piano concerto No.1 with the Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra last weekend. Maestro David Ramadanoff was the conductor. Beethoven’s first piano concerto is such a joyful and vigorous work, and the Master Sinfonia is the perfect vehicle for its interpretation—Their great energy was contagious, and they made me enjoy this youthful work, much more than I could imagine when I first walked in to the rehearsal.

                                                    with Maestro Ramadanoff

Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra

May 5th, Saturday at 8 pm

Portola Valley Presbyterian Church
945 Portola Road
Portola Valley, CA

May 6th, Sunday at 2:30 pm

Los Altos United Methodist Church
655 Magdalena Avenue
Los Altos, CA

All Beethoven Program
Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major
Symphony No. 3 in Eb major “Eroica”

Ticket:
Single tickets are $20 at the door.
Senior tickets (60+) are $16 at the door.
Youth tickets (under 18) are $5 at the door.

Great East Japan Earthquake memorial concert and photo exhibit

on By

 

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.

 

Tears of the Earth Memorial Concert and Photo Exhibit for the Great East Japan Earthquake

Sunday March 11, 2012

Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
$30 in advance /$35 at door
Under age 18 or student: $15 in advance /$20 at door
Tickets are available at City Box Office.
415-392-4400
www.cityboxoffice.com

Santa Rosa Junior College

on By

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.