Longtime admirer and specialist of Estonian Music, Japanese pianist Takahiro Akiba, will give a concert of Estonian music on May 9 in Tokyo Gotanda Cultural Center Recital Hall. Concert entitled „Sound as Landscape. Evening of the Estonian Chamber Music“ celebrates the 10th anniversary of Estonian Music Project – concert series initiated by Takahiro Akiba in 2004. Since then he has been introduced in Japan the music of Estonian composers like Rudolf Tobias, Mart Saar, Heino Eller, Eduard Tubin, Eduard Oja, Ester Mägi, Jaan Koha, Arvo Pärt, Raimo Kangro, Lepo Sumera, René Eespere, Urmas Sisask, Tõnu Kõrvits and Jüri Reinvere – many of these performances being also Japanese premieres. At the concert on Friday, Takahiro Akiba together with Yuko Yoshioka (piano), Masato Inoue (baritone) and Mio Saito (violin) will present the following program:

Heino Eller "The Bells" for piano solo (1929)
Eugen Kapp 5 pieces from the cycle "Pictures from Tallinn" for piano solo (1949)
Eduard Tubin 3 Songs for baritone and piano
Eduard Oja "Aelita" suite for violin and piano (1932)
Arvo Pärt "Spiegel im Spiegel" for violin and piano (1978)
Tõnu Kõrvits "Three Shakespeare's sonnets" for baritone and piano (1998)
Alo Põldmäe "Four Estonian Landscapes" for piano solo (2009)
Urmas Sisask 2 pieces from the cycle "Sourthern Skies", Op. 52 for piano solo (1995)

Concert is supported by Estonian Embassy in Tokyo and Japan-Estonian Friendship Association.

Takahiro Akiba (b. 1984 in Yokohama) is a talented young pianist who has a special interest in Estonian music. In 2003–2007, he studied at the Faculty of Music of the Tokyo University of the Arts with Hideto Nishikawa. He graduated from the university with top honors and, as one of the best four graduates, received the Ataka Award. In 2007–2009, Akiba continued his studies in postgraduate course of TUA with Professor Kenji Watanabe. In 2009–2011, Akiba furthered his studies at the Moscow State Conservatory with Prof. Mikhail Olenev and Prof. Victor Merzhanov. He also had private studies with Victor Bunin in Moscow, Hideyo Harada in Tōkyō and Anahit Nersesyan in Yerevan, and has participated in the master classes of Vladimir Tropp and Victor Merzhanov in Japan. Akiba has given solo recitals and performed with orchestras in Japan. He is a member of the Estonia Japan Association since 2002 and International Eduard Tubin Society since 2006.

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