Japanese Pianist Kuramoto Yuhki

Japanese pianist Kuramoto Yuhki (52) recently held a surprise concert at ＇Bird Land', a live club in Seoul. Over 100 of his fans were invited at no cost.

How was your surprise concert held on May 21th?

-It was a small concert. A record company received an application from my music fans and invited them for the small concert. I think meeting genuine fans is a lot of fun for musicians. I was especially impressed when fans played my music.

There was a great deal of music composed with the subject of water, including ＇Lake Louise,＇＇A Mirage on the Water'and ＇Sailing in Silence.'
-People usually think that I grew up in a village near a lake. Acually, my hometown is Saitama-hyun, where there are no rivers or lakes. I think that my longing for nature influenced my music.

I know you alway use the word ＇relax＇ in your concerts. Is that the purpose of your music?

-Yes, it is. I want to create music that allows people to relax. In order to accomplish my goal, strict and difficult practice is necessary. Ironically, in order to create relaxing music for others, I must prevent myself from relaxing.

How do you feel about your music being referred to as ＇New Age?＇

-It＇s not a problem. I think my music is closely linked to classical music. I think there are many differences between George Winston's music and Ryuichi Sakamoto's music, even though they are both labeled as ＇New Age' artists.

Do you have any special reasons for not using a synthesizer?

-My music is a conversation with nature. Acoustic instruments make sounds through a vibration of various objects, but electronic instruments use switches. Of course, electronic instruments are convenient to use at home. But I don＇t want to include electronic instrument-generated sounds in my music.

I know you majored in physics, but changed to music.
-As a matter of fact, I wanted to do two things at the same time. While I selected music, mathematics is still my hobby.

He said with some regret that he was only known to pianists in Korea. ＂I make a lot of music for dramas. I create a lot of music for Japanese-Korean dramas as well.＂

by Yi Eun-ju