Kenji Miura – Identity (2022) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]

Kenji Miura - Identity (2022) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz] Download

The Japanese-born pianist Kenji Miura, winner of the 2019 Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition in Paris, ponders on the issue of identity, combining music of the French school with two pieces by Toru Takemitsu, a Japanese composer strongly influenced by French composers and by the Second Viennese School. The main works on the album are Franck’s Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales and Debussy’s Six épigraphes antiques. Born in Kobe in 1993, Kenji Miura studied in the UK and in Berlin, where he is now based. “This album is a reflection of my own personal struggle with identity,” he writes. “We live in an increasingly multi-ethnic and multicultural society – my torn-between-worlds feeling is shared by many around the world. This is my small musical letter to all those struggling with the many aspects of identity – a concept that should help us embrace who we are and our complicated, beautiful lives.”Identity is one of those releases that delivers something different from what it promises, with ultimately successful results. Pianist Kenji Miura hails from Japan and studied in Britain and Germany; he is based in Berlin. He calls the album “a reflection of my own personal struggle with identity… my small musical letter to all those struggling with the many aspects of identity — a concept that should help us embrace who we are and our complicated, beautiful lives.” As such, the album isn’t terribly successful. There are no British or German pieces; the album consists mostly of French music, and there are only two Japanese pieces by Toru Takemitsu, both fitting into the sphere of well-established French influences on his music. Taken for what it is, though — a recital of French Impressionist music with a few dashes of other flavors — the music is lovely. The combination of Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales and Debussy’s Six épigraphes antiques is ideal, with the incipient neoclassic idea married to a more general nostalgic mood. Miura keeps the dynamics low throughout; the climax of the album at the end, with Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse, is not a peroration but simply a slight thickening of the texture. The end result evokes a mood of quiet questioning that does indeed fit with Miura’s stated goal. This is a successful offbeat recital of French music. – James Manheim

Tracklist:

1-1. Kenji Miura – Prélude, fugue et variation, Op. 18, FWV 30 (Transcr. Bauer) (11:16)
1-2. Kenji Miura – Romance (03:55)
1-3. Kenji Miura – Rain Tree Sketch II In memoriam Olivier Messiaen (04:06)
1-4. Kenji Miura – Jeux d’eau, M. 30 (05:48)
1-5. Kenji Miura – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61: No. 1, Modéré et très franc (01:24)
1-6. Kenji Miura – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61: No. 2, Assez lent, avec une expression intense (02:48)
1-7. Kenji Miura – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61: No. 3, Modéré (01:24)
1-8. Kenji Miura – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61: No. 4, Assez animé (01:17)
1-9. Kenji Miura – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61: No. 5, Presque lent, dans un sentiment intime (01:24)
1-10. Kenji Miura – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61: No. 6, Vif (00:45)
1-11. Kenji Miura – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61: No. 7, Moins vif (02:54)
1-12. Kenji Miura – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61: No. 8, Épilogue. Lent (04:53)
1-13. Kenji Miura – 6 Épigraphes antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 1, Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d’été (02:32)
1-14. Kenji Miura – 6 Épigraphes antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 2, Pour un tombeau sans nom (03:19)
1-15. Kenji Miura – 6 Épigraphes antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 3, Pour que la nuit soit propice (02:33)
1-16. Kenji Miura – 6 Épigraphes antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 4, Pour la danseuse aux crotales (02:43)
1-17. Kenji Miura – 6 Épigraphes antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 5, Pour l’Égyptienne (02:59)
1-18. Kenji Miura – 6 Épigraphes antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 6, Pour remercier la pluie au matin (02:29)
1-19. Kenji Miura – L’Isle joyeuse, CD 109, L. 106 (05:59)
1-20. Kenji Miura – Mazurka No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 54 (03:37)

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