Kotaro Fukuma – Fantasy – Scriabin & Rachmaninoff (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Kotaro Fukuma – Fantasy – Scriabin & Rachmaninoff (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:22:18 minutes | 2,60 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos Japan

A journey to visit the vast world of fantasy of these two giant stars in the history of piano music. Last year and this year marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of two great composers/pianists. Both studied at the same conservatory and later left their mark on the history of piano music. Their youthful works are filled with fresh lyricism and a fantastic atmosphere of longing. Koutaro Fukuma invites you to a vast world of fantasy with his outstanding music selection and delicate yet dynamic performance. At the age of 20, he became the first Japanese winner of the Cleveland International Competition and won the Chopin Prize. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, the Berlin University of the Arts, and the International Piano Academy at Lake Como. He has given recitals at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Salle Gaveau, Suntory Hall, etc. He has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the He has performed more than 50 piano concertos with many renowned orchestras in Japan and abroad, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonkünstler Orchestra, and NHK Symphony Orchestra.In July 2016, she substituted for the late Nelson Freire and performed Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 at the subscription concert of the Orchestre National de la Capitole de Toulouse, conducted by Tugan Sohiyev, to great acclaim. He has also collaborated with top skaters such as figure skater Stéphane Lambiel, and performed with Mathieu Gagnaio, the etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet in Paris. France Romance” and “Beethoven: Piano Sonatas” (Naxos Japan). This is his 19th album. He also produces the concert series “Rare Piano Music,” which features rare piano works, and is a television personality on OTTAVA and Buraabo Web Station. He has also attracted attention from people of all ages for his performance videos, commentary videos, and live broadcasts on his YouTube channel. He is active both in Japan and abroad with his diverse repertoire, expressive ability, conceptual programs, and command of five languages.He has made numerous media appearances, including TV Asahi’s “Tetsuko’s Room” and “Untitled Concert”, and NHK TV’s “Classical Music Hall” and “Classical Club”. He was awarded the 39th Chopin Society of Japan Prize.

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Kotaro Fukuma – J.S. Bach: Piano Transcriptions (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Kotaro Fukuma – J.S. Bach: Piano Transcriptions (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:15:08 minutes | 2,23 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos Japan

For many years now, I have been playing piano transcriptions in my recitals, and the programme on this disc was originally devised for my concert at the Valletta Baroque Music Festival in Malta in January 2020. I have special affinity with many of the pieces, but here I will share just a couple. One is my own transcription of the aria “Erbarme Dich, mein Gott”, which I first performed at a Preface concert entitled “Homage to Toru Takemitsu”. As I explained on that occasion, Takemitsu loved this aria; he would play it every time he set to work on a new composition, and also by chance he heard this piece on the radio the day before he died. The other piece that is close to my heart is the Passacaglia and Fugue in Eugen d’Albert’s transcription, which I played when I collaborated with Mathieu Ganio, danseur étoile at the Paris Opera Ballet. Until then, Mathieu was mostly cast as a prince, but in this project, he took on a new challenge to perform a one-man play. I still remember vividly how he appeared on stage with this music, naked down to the waist, like the image of Christ on the way towards his crucifixion.

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Kotaro Fukuma – Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Kotaro Fukuma – Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:00:45 minutes | 999 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos Japan

Born in Tokyo, Kotaro Fukuma began learning piano at the age of five and has received many high awards in international competitions, including the Arthur Rubinstein, Tel Aviv; Paloma O’Shea, Santander; Maj Lind, Helsinki; BNDES, Rio De Janeiro; and Gina Bachauer, Salt Lake City. In 2003, at the age of 20, Kotaro won both First Prize and the Chopin Prize at the 15th Cleveland International Piano Competition. Since then his concert career has developed on five continents (North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia).

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