Kigawa previews New York concert with Wednesday and Thursday performances

Sunday, July 31, 2016
Courtesy photo Taka Kigawa to perform in Greencastle Wednesday, Thursday.

The Greencastle Summer Music Festival welcomes back the internationally acclaimed Taka Kigawa, a "brilliant pianist" who plays with "virtuosity and flair" (New York Times) for free performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

Each evening features the complete Preludes (short improvisatory pieces) of a beloved composer, taking listeners on a far-ranging, sonically-enchanting emotional voyage.

The concerts are a preview of Kigawa's Aug. 29 recital of Debussy and Chopin at the Greenwich Village nightclub [le] Poisson Rouge, one of New York's prime venues for solo and chamber music (other performers have included Yoko Ono, Yo-Yo Ma and numerous jazz, rock, and contemporary musicians), where he has appeared more times than any other classical artist. TimeOut New York has selected the event as its "Best Concert of the Day."

At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church, Kigawa will perform the complete Preludes by the great French impressionist composer Claude Debussy. Each piece has an evocative title, such as "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair," "the Sunken Cathedral" and "Fireworks."

He then turns to the great Romantic pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin Thursday at 7:30 p.m at Music on the Square (21 N. Indiana St.), playing that composer's complete Preludes, which contain some of the most beloved music ever written for the piano. With the Chopin taking less than 40 minutes, it will be a relaxed, informal evening with time for questions and answers with the audience.

Time allowing, Kigawa will be joined by the festival's founding artistic director and DePauw music professor Eric Edberg for a portion of the Sonata No. 1 by Czech composer Bohuslav Martin. Kigawa and Edberg performed a sold-out recital at the New York venue Spectrum in January that was featured as one of the recommended concerts of the week by the New York Times.

"Taka is one of our most popular performers," Edberg said. "He's played here so many times and made so many friends that there's no question that his performances embody the Festival's spirit of 'friends making music for friends.' Chris Flegal, our executive director, and I are thrilled that we can present these performances here in Greencastle with no admission charge. People will be paying $25 for a standing-room ticket in New York to hear the same music next month."

The New York Times praised a 2012 performance of Debussy Preludes, writing, "Mr. Kigawa's Debussy is carefully shaded and texturally transparent. He knows how to make this music sparkle, as in the final Prelude, "Feux d'artifice," with its fiery washes of sound. He is equally adept at tapping Debussy's sense of mystery, as in the shimmering opening of "L'Isle joyeuse," or in the almost mystical chromaticism of the Prelude No. 10, "Canope."

The festival, dedicated to "bringing the community together with friends making music for friends" presents an increasing wide spectrum of music, with this year's events including jazz, pop, gospel and world music as well as classical. Committed to presenting live music open to everyone, the free concerts are made possible by individual donations, an endowment at the Putnam County Community Foundation, and local businesses including the Inn at DePauw.

Kigawa's solo recitals at (le) "Poisson Rouge" over the past several years have all been resounding successes, receiving unqualified critical acclaim from both audiences and critics. His August 2012 recital at LPR, in which he performed J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue entirely from memory, broke the attendance record in the solo recital genre, a record it holds to this day. His recital there in August 2010 was chosen as one of the best concerts of the year by The New York Times. His LPR August 2011 recital was chosen by Musical America as one of the most notable concerts in the 2011-12 season.

Kigawa has steadily built his reputation as one of today's most compelling artists, renowned as much for his superb musicianship as for his courageous programming. The New York Times described him as "A phenomenon ... There's no denying that he's something special." Since winning first prize in the 1990 Japan Music Foundation Competition in Tokyo, and the 1998 Diploma Prize at Concurs Internacional Maria Canals De Barcelona in Spain, he has performed extensively as a recitalist, a member of major chamber music ensembles and soloist with orchestra in many prestigious venues worldwide, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Kosciuszko Foundation, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Cité de la Musique and Salle Gaveau in Paris, and Plau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona. He has collaborated closely with such renowned musicians as Pierre Boulez, Unsuk Chin, Myung-Whun Chung and Jonathan Nott. His performances and recordings have been broadcast over many television and radio networks, including WQXR-FM in New York.

Kigawa received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Shinsyu University in Japan, and continued his studies in New York at The Juilliard School, where he holds a Master of Music degree.

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