Hisako Sotoo Hiseki – Repertoire

Piano

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Hisako Sotoo Hiseki– Biography

Hisako Sotoo Hiseki was born in Japan, once graduated in the University of Art in Kyoto, she took various Soloist courses in the Withertur Conservatory (Salzburg, Hannover), where she finally got the Solistendiplom. Few years later, she took a Master in Spanish Music in Barcelona, learning from one of the Spanish greatest pianists Alicia de Larrocha. She has won many awards, such as the First Prize in the competition “Panjapanese”, the Gold Award in the Piano 80 competition, the Honorary Diploma at the International Contest and the Isaac Albéniz Medal, which she won in 2006. Furthermore, she has had the support and advices from distinguished celebrities within the music scene like Takahiro Sonoda, Hans Leygraf, Christoph Lieske, Alicia de Larrocha, Vladimir Krainev, the catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge or Carmen Mompou, the renowned composer’s wife. During her career on stage, she has performed as a soloist and has been accompanied by prestigious orchestras and by camera music, in many places around Spain, and also in other countries like Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy and Japan. Among other activities, she has participated as part of the jury at the Xavier Montsalvatge Award, Musical Awards of Girona and the Young Musicians of Barcelona Festival. She is also responsible for the revision and edition of Albéniz’s Suite Iberia scores. She has recorded 8CD’s: Rhapsody in the Sky, Albéniz’s Suite Iberia,Sagrada Familia, Goyescas (composed by Granados), Iberia&Suite española,12 Danzas españolas Op.37, El Universo de la Música Española and 400 años de ensueño, más allá del tiempo y el espacio. In 2008, she has performed a concert within the exposition about Gaudí “The realism of Gaudi and the hope of Europe”, held in the European Parliament in Brussels. During 2009, a tour was held among Europe and Japan in occasion of the centenary of the compositor Albéniz’s death, with the collaboration of the Spanish Embassy in Japan. In 2010, she has giving concerts in many different countries, such as United States, Japan, Italy or Argentina, to honour the 150th Anniversary of Albeniz's birth.

Hisako Sotoo Hiseki – Biography

During 2011, she is giving many tour concerts around the world under the title "The Beauty of Spanish Music", a project sponsored in Japan by the Baltasar Gracian 2010 Program of the Spanish Cultural Ministry in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in Japan.It should be noted the charity concert given in the auditorium of La Pedrera (Barcelona), in memory of the Japanese disaster, organised by the Rotary Club Barcelona Mar. Recently she has premiered the work by Albéniz “Concierto Fantástico” in Japan with the Orchestra of Kyushu in the Fukuoka Acros Symphony-Hall, having been the first artist to perform this work for the Japanese audience. In 2011 she was on several tours included in her programme “El Universo de la Música Española” – The Universe of the Spanish Music, being this project supported again by the Programme Baltasar Gracian 2011 of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in Japan. Her three albums have been placed on the top (Spanish Suite Iberia and Suite), second (Sagrada Familia, Goyescas), and the recommended disk (Spanish Dances Granados) positions in the ranking of the magazine Record Geijutsu in Japan and Gold Disc (400 Years of Dreams) in the Spanish magazine Melómano. During the year 2013, she records a CD (400 años de enueño, más allá del tiempo y el espacio) and documentary due to the Año Dual España-Japón. She participates in pre-inaugural concert of the Año Dual at Madrid and Barcelona, as well as concerts at Zaragoza, Alella, Gran Canaria, Tokio y Kobe. She had similar concerts at Bilbao and other cities during 2014. In all places, the concerts have received an impeccable assessment。 She played Albeniz’ Iberia as the main guest of the most popular classical musical program of “La, la, la ♪Classic” of NHK-E TV station, the national television of Japan. She recently did a concert in Hamarikyu Asahi-Hall in Tokyo with the famous actress Keiko Takeshita.

Hisako Sotoo Hiseki – Press

When Japan arrived to Spain

Pianist Hisako Hiseki is one of the greatest ambassadors of Spanish music worldwide. Born in Japan, but having lived in Spain over 20 years, her last CD was chosen as the official commemorative project to celebrate the 400-year anniversary of Spain-Japan relations. Heir of the wisdom of Alicia de Larrocha and the music of Montsalvatge, Hiseki presents '400 Years of Dreaming - Beyond Time and Space,' an album that compiles the very best of two musical traditions that have much in common. What do you feel, being selected to culturally represent the long-lasting diplomatic relations between Spain and Japan? I feel fortunate. More than 25 years ago I visited Europe for the first time, and I've lived in Spain for over 20 years. During all of this time, I've learnt to love Spanish culture just as much I love my own, and this is why I'm delighted to take part in the commemorative anniversary. Great musicians like Xavier Montsalvatge and Alicia de Larrocha have praised your talent as a pianist. How did they influence your career? I learnt from Alicia de Larrocha owing to a Master course first, and through particular lessons later on. I learned about the charisma, the spirit and the strength of the pianist from her. Sometimes we worked through more than 6 hours nonstop, forgetting even to drink or eat. As for Xavier Montsalvatge, I had the honour to learn about his pieces directly from him, playing under his guidance. He was a really authentic person. I visited him over and over again so that he could tell me his impressions on my interpretations. It was Xavier who showed me the heart of Spanish music. All of your released CDs focus on Spanish music. Now, and for the first time, they also include Japanese composers. Why did you wait for so long? I've played Japanese music for a long time in my concerts, but I was not really sure whether it would appeal to the general public. Now we are celebrating the anniversary of 400 years of Japan-Spain international relations, I thought it was finally time to do it. I owe much to my country, and I feel I should contribute to the promotion of our culture.

Hisako Sotoo Hiseki – Press

What do you think is appealing about Spanish music? I started studying European music, but when I first listened to Spanish pieces I felt them to be different, interesting. I took part in the contest 'María Canals' in Barcelona, where it was mandatory to play extracts from the Suite Iberia, by Albéniz. It was really difficult for me to understand his music at the beginning, but this also motivated me to keep on working to play it better. Once, after finishing one of my first concerts in Spain, someone came to me and told me that Spanish music had very difficult pieces and that only Alicia de Larrocha could play them at their best quality. This is how the challenge was born, as well as my wish to study Spanish music together with her. Listening to your album it becomes apparent that the music by Ifukube or Miyoshi perfectly complement that of Mompou, Albéniz, or Montsalvatge. How can two musical traditions so far apart have this kind of connection? Even though the pieces by Japanese and Spanish composers are indeed very different, they all share a goal in common, and that is to elevate the popular music of their respective countries to the highest level. I think it is because of this same motivation that apparently divergent music traditions coincide. Apart from playing in concerts, you have also taken part in many contest juries. How do you find the pianistic level in Spain? Is there a lot of difference with Japan? During the 20 years I've been living in Spain, the level of national pianists has risen extraordinarily. It is very difficult to compare the levels of Japan and Spain, as there are many differences born out of the particularities of each culture. Spanish pianists tend to interpret with innate passion, while Japanese pianists often stand out thanks to their technical and interpretive skills. But it's never possible to make generalisations.

Hisako Sotoo Hiseki – Press

Hiseki's Spanish Dreaming~Gold Disc

Few artists can say they have learnt directly from Alicia de Larrocha and Montsalvatge, two of the most important music figures Spain has given the world in the last decades. This is why the discretion and modesty of Hisako Hiseki catches us unguarded, as does her great sensitivity when she plays Spanish music, which she has come to deeply understand after all these years. Having lived in Spain for over two decades, this Japanese interpreter launches now her 8th album. The CD compiles pieces by great masters such as Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Federico Mompou, Xavier Montsalvatge and the Japanese composers Akira Ifukube and Akira Miyoshi. Hiseki reasserts her position as one of the main pianists of the Spanish repertoire. In this particular case, wonder lays not in her well-known interpretive skills, but rather in the fact she has decided to include Japanese music in one of her albums for the first time. The singularity of her album derives precisely from the encounter of two separate worlds, two distant universes Hiseki connects with spontaneity and affection, in a CD that has been chosen as the official commemorative project to celebrate the 400-year anniversary of relations between Spain and Japan. It should be noted that playing the pieces by six different composers with the sobriety and elegance Hiseki displays requires exquisite interpretation skills. It is an exercise in sensitivity and empathy that results in one of the best versions of musical pieces belonging to us all, an integral part of our cultural heritage. Hiseki stands out owing to her perfect equilibrium between emotion and reason, delivering interpretations that bring together two worlds as different as they are similar. Japanese and Spanish music traditions have much more in common than perceived at a first glance. In the words of Hiseki, "even though the pieces by Japanese and Spanish composers are indeed very different, they both share the same goal, and that is to elevate the popular music of their respective countries to the highest level. I think it is because of this same motivation that apparently divergent music traditions coincide." Hiseki's oriental touch impresses the audience as she evokes images brimming with emotion and subtleness. Her phrasing has a particular sound to it, a great level of attention to accents and articulations.

Hisako Sotoo Hiseki – Discography

El Universo de la Música Española Insitu Recordings (2 CD’s) D.L: B.40046-2011 Comentarios: Inglés, Español, Japonés タワーレコード：http://bit.ly/yuGV6l HMV：http://bit.ly/wkwNMv Amazon：http://amzn.to/xCiVdH iTunes Music Store：http://bit.ly/y6t3j2

CD 1 [1] - [7] Enrique Granados (1867 – 1916): 6 piezas sobre cantos populares españoles. [8] - [13] Enrique Granados: Escenas Románticas [14] Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849): Ballade Nº 4 Op.52

CD 2 [1] - Enrique Granados: Canción de Mayo [2] - [4] Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827): Sonata Nº 8 Op.13 Pathétique [5] - [8] Manuel de Falla (1876 – 1946): Cuatro piezas españolas 5.Aragonesa; 6.Cubana; 7.Montañesa; 8.Andaluza [9] - [11] Xavier Montsalvatge (1912 – 2002): Sonatina pour Yvette I.～III. [12] Xavier Montsalvatge: Habanera

Hisako Hiseki (Piano) Agosto - Septiembre de 2011, en Barcelona DDD

 This is the last recording of the international pianist Hisako Hiseki, who drew a lot of interest on December 23rd, when she appeared as a guest in the TV show “Another Sky” (Nippon Television, nationwide).  This CD includes Montsalvatge’s “Habanera”, played by Hiseki during the show.

Hisako Sotoo Hiseki – Discography

 Hisako Hiseki is Master of Spanish Music by the well-known pianist Alicia de Larrocha, and has revised and edited the scores of Albeniz’s masterpiece “Suite Iberia”.  As a Spanish music specialist, she centers her activity in Europe as well as in other countries like Japan. In May 2011 she played for the first time in Japan a concert of Albeniz with the Orchestra of Kyushu.