{"product_id":"4562264260249","title":"Kazushi Yamashita, S concerto Japan Music CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eProduct Description\u003cbr\u003e\nRecording: March 24-25, 2014, Sendai City Youth Culture Center (Session Recording) Track Listing Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 Performed by Junko Urayama (piano), Kazufumi Yamashita (conductor), Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra Foreword to the Album There are few performances that can lift the listener's heart like this. These are Junko Urayama's Chopin and Rachmaninoff piano concertos. Urayama has previously recorded works by Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, and also by Debussy and Poulenc, and has also released the unique album \"Voyage,\" which included Toshio Kashiwagi's \"Whimsical Paraphrases on Basho's Oku no Hosomichi,\" which caused a stir. This is the long-awaited concerto album from Urayama. Urayama's individuality is outstanding. Rooted in a solid structural vision, Urayama's interpretations of Chopin and Rachmaninoff, rendered on a grand scale, are truly pianistic, inviting us to a heavenly realm with brilliant imagery. The dynamic drive and surging passion in the first movement of each piece inspire vitality, while the delicate poetic sentiment in the second movement sculpts the composer's romanticism in unparalleled detail. The fluidity of his fingerwork and the clear articulation of the notes he produces create a brilliant and captivating virtuosity. Above all, the heart-stirring rubato, vibrant phrasing, and exquisite pedaling speak to Urayama's extraordinary potential, and his skillful phrasing adds significant value to the works, but the ultimate highlight is the diversity of his tone. From the deep, resonant bass to the brilliant high notes reminiscent of a starry sky, the presence is overwhelming. The exquisite tones, warm and nuanced nuances, and muffled textures blend together in perfect harmony, shifting like a gradient, creating a truly vivid sound. Furthermore, the performance of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kazufumi Yamashita is outstanding. Yamashita served as the principal conductor of the Sendai Philharmonic until March 2012, and their communication is impeccable. They warmly support the soloist while simultaneously developing a thrilling, concerto-like interplay. In recent years, CD sales have not been particularly strong. Under these circumstances, the spirit of the artists and production team in daring to tackle a full orchestra, and a session recording rather than a live recording, deserves high praise. Thus, a dazzling musical delight was born. This is an album that you will want to keep by your side and listen to carefully at all times. (Commentary: Yudai Majima) Junko Urayama (Piano) Profile Born in Koriyama and raised in Sendai. She began playing the piano at the age of four, and after graduating from the Toho Girls' High School Music Department and the Toho Gakuen University Faculty of Music, Piano Department, she studied at the Fryderyk Chopin Conservatory in Warsaw, Poland in 1994. In 1995, she won first prize at the Radziwill International Piano Competition and the Best Chopin Prize (Poland), and in 1998, she won the top prize at the Pollino International Piano Competition (Italy), among many other awards. Since 1996, she has been based in London and made her debut at the prestigious Wigmore Hall. She has been active in a wide range of activities throughout Europe, from solo recitals and concertos to chamber music, and in 2002, she performed Grieg's Piano Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Ashkenazy, and in the same year, she was invited back by the Philharmonia Orchestra to perform at the Chichester Music Festival. After returning to Japan in 2005 and making her debut at the Ginza Oji Hall, she has developed a diverse range of performance activities. As an artist for Steinway Japan's \"Young Virtuoso Series,\" she has performed concerts throughout Japan and is also actively involved in charity work for education and welfare both domestically and internationally. Her recital series \"An Invitation to a Journey of the Heart\" (3 sessions), which began in 2009, has attracted attention for its original concept of featuring \"whimsical paraphrases based on Basho's 'Oku no Hosomichi'\" (The Narrow Road to the Deep North). In 2012, she released the complete recording of this work as a CD titled \"VOYAGE\" from Sony Music Direct, which was selected for the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival. Since 2014, she has been holding the recital series \"The World of Chopin \u0026amp; Rachmaninoff\" (4 sessions) at the Hamarikyu Asahi Hall. Her previous CD releases include \"Piano Recital\" (2003), \"Fantasie\" (2005), and \"Soir?e\" (2007) (all released by Symphonica Records, UK). In 2014, she released her fifth CD, \"CONCERTOS\" (Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 \u0026amp; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra \u0026amp; conducted by Kazufumi Yamashita). She studied under Shigeru Asano, Yoko Okumura, Kazuko Yasukawa, Andrzej Stefanski, and Slamita Aronowski. She is a Steinway Artist.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TOKYO JAPAN CD SHOP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53225124364597,"sku":"4562264260249","price":4900.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1011\/5966\/5973\/files\/51lsPFNxpsL._AC.jpg?v=1785326946","url":"https:\/\/tokyojapancdshop.com\/products\/4562264260249","provider":"TOKYO JAPAN CD SHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}