Masahiro Kawakami • Japan
Few artists have made an impact on so many others as Masahiro Kawakami. He is known as one of the premiere artists and scholars on the music of Nikolai Kapustin and Nikolai Medtner, per-former and educator at festivals both domestic and international, recording artist for NHK-FM radio and television programs in Japan and for almost 20 years, the teacher of Nobuyuki Tsujii, 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winner.
Mr. Kawakami was born in Hokkaido, Japan and studied piano at Tokyo College of Music. After graduating, he continued his studies at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien, Austria.
Mr. Kawakami is a master at communicating through music and has appeared at many festivals worldwide as a performer and teacher in master classes appearing regularly at Music fest Peru-gia, Italy and Dryad Piano Academy in Hamamatsu, Japan.
Being one of the foremost experts on the music of Nikolai Kapustin, Mr. Kawakami has given performances of Kapustin’s 3rd Piano Concerto Op. 48, 5th Piano Concerto Op.72, 6th Piano Concerto and Nikolai Kapustin dedicated two compositions, Op. 137 and Op. 138 to him. He has recorded the Piano Sonata in B-flat minor by Mily Balakirev, Sonata No. 5 and Etudes Op. 42 by Scriabin, 7 Piano Sonatas by Nikolai Medtner and numerous solo piano works and chamber mu-sic works by Nikolai Kapustin.
He gives regular recitals at Suntory Hall, Tokyo Opera City hall, Kioi hall as well as numerous performances with piano ensembles, chamber ensembles and symphonic orchestras in Japan. His greatest achievement came in Tokyo in 2016 giving the world premiere of Kapustin’s 3rd Piano Concerto, Op. 48. In 2017, he has set out on a new recording project for the complete piano works of Nikolai Kapustin.
Through publishing houses Zen-On Music and Schott Music, Mr. Kawakami has edited more than 30 scholarly editions of the piano works by Nikolai Medtner and Nikolai Kapustin. Though he has an active life as a performer, Mr. Kawakami devotes considerable time teaching piano at Tokyo College of Music, Japan.