Motoki Wigmore 29 Oct flyer.pdf

16/9/11

17:35:32

Motoki Hirai

Tickets*: £25, £22, £18, £12*All proceeds from this concert will go tothe Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake
Relief Fund, for the rebuilding of lives andlivelihoods through local projects in themost affected areas.
How to Book
In person:

PIANO
In Aid of the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami“a most brilliant and sensitive musicaltalent both as pianist and composer”–The GuardianSat. 29th October 2011 – 3:00 pm

7 days a week; 10am~8:30pm
Days without an evening concert 10am~5pmNo advance booking in the half hour prior to a concert.

Telephone: 020 7935 2141
7 days a week; 10am~8:30pm
Days without an evening concert 10am~5pm
There is a £2.00 administration fee for all telephone bookings,
which includes the return of your tickets by post if time permits.

Online: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
7 days a week; 24 hours a day
There is a £1.00 administration fee for all online bookings,
which includes the return of your tickets by post if time permits.

“sheer delight! … spellbinding!”“His emotional range, versatilityand imagination is simply outstanding”–Ongaku no Tomo

Facilities for Disabled People:
Please contact House Management, tel 020 7258 8210 for
full details or email housemanagers@wigmore-hall.org.uk

In Association with: The Japan Society“special insight into the works of others”–Sunday Times

Supported by: Embassy of Japan in the UK, Steinway & Sons,and Wigmore Hall

Sponsored by: ANA, Japan Centre, JR Central,
Matsuri Restaurant, OCS Europe, TallWall Media, andGreat Britain Sasakawa Foundation

Special thanks to: JCCI and Nippon Club
Graphic Design: Ryoji Karube

Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2BP
Director: John Gilhooly
The Wigmore Hall Trust
Registered Charity No. 1024838
www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
NGR
Grant Rogers Musical Artists' Management
8 Wren Crescent, Bushey Heath, Herts WD23 1AN
Tel: 020 8950 2220 Fax: 020 8950 3570
Email: info@ngartists.com Web : www.ngrartists.com

Box Office:020 7935 2141
Book Online: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk© Carpenter Turner

Motoki Wigmore 29 Oct flyer.pdf

16/9/11

17:37:59

PROGRAMME
Motoki HIRAI

New Work (world première)

MOZART

Piano Sonata in Bb K570

SCHUMANN

Fantasiestücke Op.12 (excerpts)

ALBENIZ

Rumores de la Caleta (Malagueña) from Recuerdos de vioje

LISZT

Hungarian Rhapsody No.5 in E minor S244

SCHUBERT / LISZT

Litany S562 No.1

CHOPIN / LISZTThe Wish S480 No.1

CHOPIN

Waltz in C# minor Op.64 No.2
Prelude in Db Op.28 No.15 ‘Raindrop’

Motoki HIRAI

Scenes from a Native Land (2005)

Acclaimed worldwide for his imagination and sensitivity, composer-pianist
Motoki Hirai returns to Wigmore Hall, following his successful début recitals atCarnegie Hall (NY) and Cadogan Hall (London). Since the Earthquake and Tsunami
devastated Japan in March 2011, Motoki has been giving a series of charity
concerts for fundraising across the UK including London, Bristol, Somerset, Lincoln
and Edinburgh as well as in Japan. His appealing programme will include a world
première of his own work, alongside masterpieces from the standard repertoire.
Motoki Hirai has appeared regularly in the music
capitals of the Far East, America and Europe as wellas in London’s prestigious venues including Wigmore
Hall, Cadogan Hall, St. John’s, Smith Square and theSouth Bank Centre. In March 2011, Motoki gave ahugely successful recital in Carnegie Hall in New York.
Highlights of the 2011/2012 season and beyond
include concerto performances with Czech Virtuosi,chamber music with Vilnius String Quartet, solo
recitals in venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall(London), Carnegie Hall (NY), National Cherry Blossom

Festival (Washington D.C.), Castle Festival (Bratislava)
and La Folle Journée (Tokyo) as well as concert tours
across Europe and Japan.
As a composer, Motoki has been commissioned towrite new works for international artists in various
fields which were performed and premièred in venues
such as Carnegie Hall (NY), Wigmore Hall, South Bank
Centre, Cadogan Hall, Unicorn Theatre, Chelsea
Flower Show, Chelsea Festival, Dulwich Festival(London), St. George’s (Bristol), Smetana Hall(Prague), Summer of Cultural Festival (Bratislava),
Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris (Paris), Auditori
Pau Casals (Barcelona), Tokyo Opera City and NHK
Hall (Tokyo). In celebration of Chopin’s bicentenary in2010, Motoki Hirai published his piano composition‘Hommage à Chopin’ (both solo and duet versions),
through the publisher ‘Chopin Corp.’ (Tokyo). Hismusic has also been used in films such as ‘Voice’(2004) and ‘The Emperor’s Tram Girls’ (2005).
Born in Tokyo into a highly gifted musical family,Motoki studied piano, violin and composition with hisgrandfather, the eminent composer Kozaburo Y. Hirai
and chamber music with his father, the celebrated
cellist Takeichiro Hirai, whom Pablo Casals designatedas his successor. After reading philosophy andaesthetics at Keio University in Tokyo, Motoki came toLondon in 1996 to study at the Royal Academy ofMusic, and later at City University.
Over the years, Motoki Hirai has performed for thepromotion of world peace and for people in needworldwide in association with organizations such as

the Red Cross, Motor Neurone Disease Association,
UNICEF and UNESCO. In 2010 Motoki was invited toLithuania to give a charity concert, commemorating
Sempo (Chiune) Sugihara who saved the lives of 6000
Jews during World War II. As an artistic emissary of
the Japanese government, Motoki has visited France,Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Romania, Sri Lanka andMalaysia amongst others since 1994. He has beenhonoured with a number of awards, including the Sir
Jack and Lady Lyons Performance Award.
He has also been involved in fascinating
educational programmes to promote Japanese art
and culture across the world, such as the “Picture
Books – Reading, Images and Music” project (2007- )as artistic director as well as composer. Motoki has
broadcast internationally on radio and television(Classic FM, BBC, ITV and NHK) and has made anumber of recordings on CD. His most recent release
is of works for solo piano ‘Motoki Hirai Piano Works’(2006/2010), supported by Steinway & Sons, which
has received much critical acclaim.
www.motoki-hirai.com