Japanese musicians mesmerise audience at Turkish embassy

ISLAMABAD: Five Japanese musicians and pianists, including Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan Hiroshi Oe, mesmerised the audience late Tuesday in a live concert.
The Embassy of Japan in collaboration with the Turkish Embassy organised a joint music recital as part of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan.
Four well-known Japanese musicians – Kazuhisa Akita, On Mitani, Mie Kobayashi and Yuriko Ito – together with the Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Oe presented music with melodies on piano and violin.
The function was held in the auditorium of the Turkish Embassy and attended by a houseful of music lovers.
Kazuhisa Akita (composer) graduated from Hochschule der Kunste Berlin and won first prize in the 6th ‘Valentino Bucchi’ International Composition Competition (Italy).
He has received prestigious awards at several competitions such as ‘Hambacher Preis’ International Composition Competition (Germany) and the 42nd and 44th Music Competition of Japan. Currently he is a professor at the Showa University of Music.
On Mitani (pianist) graduated from the Toho Gakuen School of Music and played solo and chamber music in different parts of the world. He was appointed the special adviser for cultural exchange by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan, in 2003.
Mie Kobayashi (violinist) studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. In 1990, she was the first Japanese artist to win first prize at the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition for Piano and Violin.
As one of Japan’s leading violinists, Kobayashi has recently performed as a soloist with the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra in Japan and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Beijing. Currently she is a professor at the Showa University of Music.
Yuriko Ito (pianist) graduated from the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music in Japan and Moscow PI Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Ito has won many prizes at international piano competitions, including the first prize at the 5th Great Wall International Piano Competition.
While Hiroshi Oe started to play piano at the age of 5, and after a long interval of not playing for more than 30 years, resumed taking lessons from 2006.
He won two gold medals and two silver medals in the amateur solo and concerto sectors of 2011 International Chopin Competition in Asia. He has played with the Tokyo New City Orchestra, as well as the Prima Vista Quartet and the Silesia Philharmonic Orchestra from Poland during their visits to Japan. He also gave a fundraiser concert at the University of Tokyo in 2011 after the earthquake and tsunami. app

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