All proceeds from this concert will go to The Japan Society
Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund, for the rebuilding oflives and livelihoods through local projects in the mostaffected areas.

Motoki Hirai, piano –Charity Concert in Aidof Japan Earthquake
Special Guest: John Pearce, violin
London-based Japanese pianist Motoki Hirai is performing aseries of charity concerts to support Japan in light of the recent
disaster. He is touring across the UK during April and May. He
will be playing at Central Saint Giles on 11th April, exactly one
month after the earthquake, joined by prominent British violinist,John Pearce. The programme will include works by Mozart,Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Albeniz, Kreisler and Motoki Hirai.

Venue:		Ground Floor Foyer		Central Saint Giles		1 St Giles High Street		WC2H 8AG
In Association with The Japan Society
Supported by Embassy of Japan
Sponsored by:

Date: 		Monday, 11th April		Doors open at 18:45		Performance: 19:15 - 20:30
Free drinks will be served before and after the concert

Admission Fee*:£15 (Concessions: £5)* Your additional donation (for which there will
be a collection box in the concert hall) would
be greatly appreciated.
All those interested in attending please send aconfirmation email with the names of all guests tomec@mecuk.co.uk

“Consistentmusicality”		

– The Sunday Times

Motoki Hirai

Pianist and Composer
Widely acclaimed as one of the most imaginative and sensitive
pianists of his generation, Motoki Hirai has appeared in themusic capitals of Far East, America and Europe, performing
regularly in London’s prestigious venues including the Wigmore
Hall, St. John’s, Smith Square and the South Bank Centre. InMarch 2011, Motoki gave a hugely successful sold-out recitalin Carnegie Hall in New York. During recent seasons, Motoki
has performed in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England,France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Spain, USA and his
native Japan. Highlights of the 2010/2011 season and beyond
include concerto performances with orchestras such as Czech
Virtuosi, solo recitals in venues including Cadogan Hall (London)and Carnegie Hall (NY), as well as concert tours across Europeand Japan.
As a composer, Motoki has been commissioned to write newworks for international artists in various fields which wereperformed and premièred in venues such as Carnegie Hall (NY),Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre, Chelsea Flower Show, Chelsea
Festival 2008, Dulwich Festival 2010 (London), St. George’s(Bristol), Smetana Hall (Prague), Maison de la culture du Japon
à Paris (Paris), Auditori Pau Casals (Barcelona), Tokyo Opera
City and NHK Hall (Tokyo). His music has also been used in films
such as ‘Voice’ (2004) and ‘The Emperor’s Tram Girls’ (2005).
In celebration of Chopin’s bicentennial in 2010, Motoki Hirai
published his piano composition ‘Hommage à Chopin’ (both soloand duet versions), through the publisher ‘Chopin Corp.’ (Tokyo).
Born in Tokyo into a highly gifted musical family, Motoki studied
piano and composition with his grandfather, the eminent
composer Kozaburo Y. Hirai, and violin with his grandmother.

“ A most brilliant
and sensitive
musical talent”		– The Guardian

After reading philosophy at Keio University in Tokyo, Motoki
came to London in 1996 to study at the Royal Academy of Music,
and later at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and CityUniversity. Since 1991, Motoki has collaborated with artists
including Michael Cox, Kalman Berkes, Barry Craft, John Pearceand his father, the celebrated cellist Takeichiro Hirai, whom
Pablo Casals designated as his successor.
Over the years, Motoki Hirai has performed for the promotionof world peace and for people in need worldwide in association
with organizations such as the Red Cross, Motor Neurone
Disease Association, UNICEF and UNESCO. In 2010 Motoki wasinvited to Lithuania to give a charity concert, commemorating
Sempo (Chiune) Sugihara who saved the lives of 6000 Polish
Jews during the Second World War.
As an artistic emissary of the Japanese government, Motoki
has visited France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, UK, Romania,Sri Lanka and Malaysia amongst others since 1994. He has
also been involved in fascinating educational programmes topromote Japanese art and culture across the world, such as the“Picture Books – Storytelling, Images and Music” project (2007)
as artistic director as well as composer. He has been honoured
with a number of awards, including the Sir Jack and Lady Lyons
Performance Award.
Motoki has broadcast internationally on radio and television(Classic FM, BBC, ITV and NHK) and has made a number ofrecordings on CD. His most recent release is of works for solo
piano ‘Motoki Hirai Piano Works’ (2006/2010), supported by
Steinway &Sons, which received much critical acclaim.
www.motoki-hirai.com