PHILIPO GLASSO jubiliejui artėjant: įžymios japonų pianistės MAKI NAMEKAWA rečitalis

As the 90th anniversary of Philip Glass, one of the most influential music creators of our time, approaches, the famous Japanese pianist Maki Namekawa will perform in Lithuania - one of the most prominent interpreters of Glass's music. The composer himself said about her: "She is one of the strongest pianists." At the recital of the piano virtuoso, which will take place on October 28. The works of the legendary minimalist and the music of the American jazz legend Keith Jarrett will be played at the National Philharmonic. Almost all the pieces of the concert will be played for the first time in Lithuania.

Maki Namekawa is called one of today's brightest pianists, she has performed on such prestigious stages as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Vienna Musikverein, London Barbican Center, Paris Philharmonic, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Tokyo Suntory Hall, as well as the Salzburg Festival, Ars Electronica and the Ruhr at the piano festival. She has played with the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Linz Bruckner and Seattle Symphony Orchestras.

Maki Namekawa stands out among other extraordinary pianists for her special attention to contemporary music, and especially for her close creative connection with the legendary American composer Philip Glass. The pianist has performed and recorded a large part of his work, and in 2013 At the Perth International Arts Festival, he performed the world premiere of a cycle of all 20 of Glass's piano etudes in the presence of the composer himself. A year later, her recording of all of Glass's etudes reached number one on iTunes among classical albums. Also in 2018 Maki Namekawa recorded a piano version of Glass's music for the film "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" - her performance was awarded the prestigious "Pasticcio Prize" by the Austrian national broadcaster ORF.

"Maki Namekawa is a very strong performer. She is one of the strongest pianists and definitely has a deep sense of music. She plays from the heart," said Philip Glass himself about the pianist. The special relationship of the artist with his music is evidenced by the fact that in 2019 Glass composed his first Piano Sonata specifically for Maki Namekawa. The pianist premiered it at the Ruhr Piano Festival in Germany, with the author watching the performance.

This is not the only piece that the famous minimalist has written for a Japanese pianist. Together with her husband, conductor Dennis Russell Davies, Maki Namekawa has been performing since 2003. plays in a piano duo for which Glass has also written Four Movements for Two Pianos and Two Movements for Four Pianos (with Katia and Marielle Labèque piano duo).

About Namekawa's interpretations of Glass's music, The Guardian wrote: "a long-time interpreter of Glass's music" had a "quiet wisdom" and in reviewing her performance For the 20th etude, the publication's critic stated that "Maki Namekawa completely merged with the music". At the concert in Vilnius, the pianist will perform Glass's 11th and 12th etudes, the music written for the dance performance "Tesra" and the First Piano Sonata specially dedicated to her. Maki Namekawa will also play "Ritual" by American jazz legend Keith Jarrett.

The central figure of the concert is Philip Glass, who will celebrate his 90th birthday next January. One of today's most influential composers, he is perhaps the first composer to attract wide audiences to opera houses, concert halls, the world of dance, cinema and popular music. His operas (Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, Akhnaten, The Voyage, etc.) are performed in the world's most famous opera houses and are usually sold out. Glass has also written the music for the Oscar-winning films The Hours and Kundun, as well as Koyaanisqatsi, famous for its special music-visual connection. The composer has collaborated with Allen Ginsberg, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Yo-Yo Ma, Leonard Cohen, Doris Lessing and many other world-famous artists.

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