Lisa Peacock Concert Management Ltd
presents

MOTOKI HIRAI

50th Birthday Recital – A Celebration in Music
UK-Japan Friendship in aid ofBritish Heart Foundation and FukushimaSat. 11 March 2023 at 7pm
St John’s Smith Square,London SW1P 3HA
St John’s Smith Square Charitable Trust. Registered Charity No. 1045390. Registered in England. Company No. 3028678.

Thomas Arne (1710-1778)
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart (1756-1791)

Sonata No.6 in G minor
I: Affettuoso
II: Presto

Sonata No.10 in C, K.330/300h
I: Allegro moderato
II: Andante cantabile
III: Allegretto[World Première]

Motoki Hirai (1973-)	Elegy in memory of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022)
Motoki Hirai
Scenes from a Native Land (2005)– Interval (20 mins) –Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)	Córdoba, Op.232, No.4 (from Cantos de España)
Enrique Granados (1867-1916) Andaluza (No.5 from 12 Danzas Españolas)
Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925) Guitarre, Op.45, No.2
Kozaburo Hirai (1910-2002)

Fantasy on ‘Sakura-Sakura’ (1971)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)	Two Songs from Schwanengesang D957	No.12: Am Meer (transcribed by Motoki Hirai)
No.4: Ständchen (transcribed by Franz Liszt)Motoki Hirai
Polka ‘La Cinquantaine’ (1986)
Motoki Hirai	Grace and Hope (2011)– Dedicated to the victims and survivors of the3/11 Tsunami and Earthquake

Motoki Hirai

Recollection No.3 (1991)

In accordance with the requirements of Westminster City Council persons shall not be permitted to sit or standin any gangway. Photography is permitted in the concert hall and during the concert, but please refrainfrom taking photographs whilst the performer is playing.
Smoking is not permitted anywhere in St. John’s. Please ensure that all digital devices are switched off.
Bottled water and drinks purchased in our Footstool Café-bar are permitted in the auditorium– please ask at the bar when ordering for a reusable cup.

Acclaimed worldwide for his imagination and sensitivity, Motoki
Hirai has appeared in over 100 countries as concert-pianist,music director and artistic emissary, regularly giving solo recitals
in prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall (New York), Royal
Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzerthaus (Vienna), Barbican,
Cadogan Hall and Wigmore Hall (London).
Motoki has broadcast internationally on radio and television (Classic FM, BBC, ITV,NHK, etc.) and collaborated with a former England and Japan rugby head coach Eddie
Jones in a documentary ‘A Decade of Recovery in Fukushima’ (2021).
As a composer, Motoki’s works have been performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall(NY); Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, St. John’s Smith Square, Chelsea Flower Show(London), Smetana Hall (Prague); Maison de la culture du Japon (Paris); Expo Milano(Milan); Auditori Pau Casals (Barcelona); Cameri Theatre (Tel Aviv); Théâtre National
Daniel Sorano (Dakar); Hugo Lambrechts Auditorium (Cape Town); as well as La FolleJournée, Tokyo Opera City, and NHK Hall (Japan).
Born in Tokyo in 1973 into a highly gifted musical family, Motoki studied piano, harmony
and counterpoint with his grandfather, the eminent composer Kozaburo Hirai, andviolin with his grandmother. After reading aesthetics and philosophy at Keio University
in Tokyo, Motoki came to London in 1996 to study at Royal Academy of Music. Since
1991, Motoki has collaborated with internationally renowned orchestras and artists
including Czech Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Golden Jubilee Orchestra, English
National Ballet, Vilnius String Quartet, Michael Cox, Kalman Berkes, John Pearce,
Doudou N’Diaye Rose and his cellist father Takeichiro Hirai (a celebrated disciple ofPablo Casals).

As an artistic emissary of the Japanese government,
Motoki has visited numerous countries across the globe
since 1994. He is an Ambassador (Yume-Taishi) of Hirono
Town in Fukushima and Goodwill Ambassador ofReviving Old Imari (porcelain) Project at Loosdorf
Castle in Austria.

www.motoki-hirai.com© Photo by Leo Wilkinson

Over the years, Motoki Hirai has performed for the promotion of World Peace and forChildren and People in need worldwide in association with organizations such as British
Red Cross, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’sCharity, Japan Society, Motor Neurone Disease Association,Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Tohoku Earthquake
Fukushima Orphans Fund, UNESCO and UNICEF. Since
the Earthquake and Tsunami devastated Tohoku, Japanon 11 March 2011 (which, by a sad coincidence, was hisbirthday), Motoki has organized over 50 charity concerts
across UK, Europe, US as well as the most affected areasin Japan.

a most brilliant and sensitive musical talent… his musicianship is incomparable
THE GUARDIAN

consistent musicality … Being a composer himself
has endowed the performer [Motoki Hirai] with aspecial insight into the works of others, enabling him
to capture the essential character of each composition.

His interpretation was refined and left a strong
impression on the audience. It was as though thedoors to the most sublime music of our time werebeing opened note by note right before our eyes.
EL MUNDOSUNDAY TIMES… superbly performed, technically perfectand infused with keen intelligence
MUSICAL OPINION

Mr. Hirai’s unhurried approach and ample breathing between
phrases brought to mind a great singer or string player… warm lyricism and a uniquely improvisatory feeling
NEW YORK CONCERT REVIEWSupported by:Sponsored by:

In Association with:
Fukushima Prefectural
Association in the UK
Special thanks to: JA, Japan Society, JCCI UK, JR-Central, Nippon Club, Zen Catering
In support of:British Heart Foundation and Hirono Town in Fukushima*Proceeds from this concert will be donated to the British Heart
Foundation and educational projects ‘Children’s Future Fund in Hirono
Town’ (Hirono-machi Kodomo Mirai Kikin) in Fukushima. Motoki Hirai
has worked with the British Heart Foundation through his music toimprove the emotional well-being of children and adults, as he himself
has had a heart condition for years. Your donation will help fundresearch into treatments and potential cures that could save your life
and that of your family.

In aid of theTo donate to

the British Heart
Foundation

Concert Management: Lisa Peacock • www.lisapeacock.co.uk • Layout and Print: DPWHDesign E: dpwhdesign@outlook.com