Nakamura Ai (Classical) - Megumi Nakamura : Japanese Harp Works - Import CD

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Nakamura Ai (Classical)

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New harp star Ai Nakamura (Megumi Nakamura) appears! From an unpublished work by Akira Ifukube to a new work by Shoichi Yabuta, the winner of the Geneva International Competition for Composition, this is an astonishing album of Japanese harp music. Until now, harp works by Japanese have been either avant-garde or well-known only in the harp world. However, to our surprise, Akira Ifukube, Fumio Hayasaka, and Yasushi Kiyose left original harp pieces. This exhibition will provide an overview of Japanese harp music of the past 80 years, which is not avant-garde but full of beautiful melodies. The focus is on the five pieces written by Akira Ifukube for the film "The Burmese Harp. Ifukube did not use existing songs such as "Hani no Yado," "The Moon Over the Deserted Castle," and "Aogeba Toutoshi," but rewrote them all in his own style.Tremendous is Nakayama Shinpei's famous "Cockatoo". It is completely Ifukube world, swirling with weighty ostinatos and ff glissandos. Since all the music fades out during the film, this is the first time the complete recording appears. In addition, an unused number also sees the light of day. The Ifukube style of the music is also a fan favorite. A harp number composed for the popular period drama "Kaze" by Toru Fuyuki of "Ultra Seven" fame was revised for this recording. The world is too beautiful for Fuyuki's fans. Also valuable are "Akatonbo," "Momiji," and "Greensleeves," which Fuyuki arranged for harp. The introduction to "Momiji" echoes the Tsuburaya special effects sound. Another highlight is a new work dedicated to her by her friend composers: we hear a new work by Shoichi Yabuta, who is in the spotlight after becoming the first Japanese winner of the Geneva International Competition for Composition in November 2015.The beautiful pop tunes are truly "Komuro sound" and soothing. The performer, Ai Nakamura (Megumi Nakamura), is a rare gem with eye-catching beauty and a passionate love for Ifukube and Kiyose's works. She has written a fascinating commentary on the relationship between harpists and Japanese composers, focusing on her former teacher Molnár. The pieces are all full of beautiful melodies, but the scales fall from your eyes when you realize that the harp is not only elegant, but also expressive beyond your imagination, sometimes as an orchestra, sometimes as a koto, and sometimes as a music box. This is the most shocking recording of the first half of this year. ＜Born in Chiba Prefecture, Nakamura began playing the piano at the age of 4 and the harp at 12. She studied harp under Joseph Molnar, Mari Kimura, and Fumiko Shinozaki, and chamber music under the late Ms. Noriko Shimazaki. She won the third prize in the harp section of the 9th Osaka International Music Competition. Performed at the Newcomer's Concert sponsored by the Harp Association and the Newcomer's Concert sponsored by the Chiba Branch of the Tokyo College of Music.In February 2011, she gave her first recital at Sumida Triphony Hall, which was well received. She has performed solo and chamber music concerts, as well as with the Gunma Symphony Orchestra, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, the Wuhan Orchestra of China, and other orchestras, and has been active in brass and opera. He has completed his postgraduate studies at Tokyo College of Music. King International

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