Sep
22
Wed September 22nd, 2021
7:30PM
Main Space
Minimum Age: All Ages
Doors Open: 6:30PM
Show Time: 7:30PM
Event Ticket: $20
Day of Show: $30
Piano
PROGRAM
György Ligeti: Selections from Piano Études
Pierre Boulez: Second Piano Sonata
Pierre Boulez: Third Piano Sonata (version 2021: Antiphonie, Trope, Constellation-Miroir)
György Ligeti’s études and Pierre Boulez’s sonatas have long been Taka Kigawa’s specialty. He has performed those pieces many times worldwide, garnering unanimous praise from both critics and audiences alike. For his Ligeti performance, The New York Times wrote in the headline, “Taka Kigawa Masters the Conflicting Rhythms of Ligeti.” The Wall Street Journal hailed, “The pianist Taka Kigawa gave an electrifying traversal of all 18 Ligeti Études, a kaleidoscopic set of works that demands the unrelenting energy and precision that are Mr. Kigawa’s specialties.” For his Boulez performance, The New York Times has written: “Boulez’s Piano Solos in Taka Kigawa’s Hands.”; “Mr. Kigawa’s feat deserves the highest praise, especially since it was combined with such alacrity and sensitivity to the musical material”; and, “Mr. Kigawa recast the [Boulez] sonata as an essay in how to apply suppleness to virtuosity, and the result was an energetic but also characterful account.” La Nacíon, Argentina’s leading paper, wrote that “Kigawa, whose rhythmic sensibility is truly astonishing, proved to be a real master.” Pierre Boulez himself highly praised Kigawa’s performance of his works: “I was very much impressed by the brilliant way he performed them. He was precise, and at the same time inventive.”
Taka Kigawa
The critically acclaimed pianist TAKA KIGAWA has earned outstanding international recognition as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber music artist, performing extensively in New York City, Boston, Cleveland, Washington, DC, Barcelona, Milan, Paris and Buenos Aires, in Ireland, as well as throughout his native Japan, including the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagano and Osaka. He has also been a featured artist on television and radio networks in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Taka Kigawa was awarded First Prize from the prestigious 1990 Japan Music Foundation Piano Competition in Tokyo and the Diploma Prize from Spain’s 1998 Concurs Internacional de Música Maria Canals Barcelona. His 2010 New York City recital was chosen by The New York Times as one of the best concerts of the year, while a subsequent 2011 recital was selected as one of the most notable concerts of the season by Musical America. His 2014 recital in Buenos Aires was named one of the best concerts of the year by Argentina’s leading newspaper, La Nación.
Possessing an extremely large and varied repertoire, ranging from the Baroque to the avant-garde, Taka Kigawa has collaborated closely with Pierre Boulez, Myung-Whun Chung and Jonathan Nott. He premiered the last solo piano work of jazz legend Yusef Lateef in New York City in 2013.
Taka Kigawa grew up in Nagano, Japan, where he began piano studies at the age of three, and won his first competition at the age of seven. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Shinsyu University and his Master of Arts degree from Tokyo Gakugei (Liberal Arts) University, graduating with honors in Piano Performance. During both his undergraduate and graduate years, Mr. Kigawa also studied composition and conducting, receiving high honors in both disciplines. He furthered his studies in the United States at The Juilliard School in New York City, where he was awarded a Master of Music degree.
Taka Kigawa is a Steinway Artist and resides in New York City.