Music News

Takahiro Akiba performs piano music by Urmas Sisask

On Saturday, September 15 at 6 pm an evening of music and story Voices from Starry Sky is held at Ueda-city Information Library Hall (Nagano-pref., Japan). Pianist Takahiro Akiba performs piano works by Urmas Sisask. The progam includes his Starry Sky Cycle No 1, Northern Skies, op. 10 and excerpts from Starry Sky Cycle No 2, Southern Skies, op. 52. The storyteller is Yuichi Inagaki. The evening is organized by Ueda Library Club.

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 (TUA / the former name: Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music) 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. Akiba has won several prizes, given solo recitals and performed with orchestras in Japan.

Takahiro Akiba has a special relation to Estonian music. He is a member of the Estonia Japan Association since 2002 and International Eduard Tubin Society since 2006. From 2003 on, he has played and studied Estonian piano music in Japan. In 2004, he launched a concert series Estonian Music Project to promote Estonian piano music in Japan. In the framework of the concert series the works of Eduard Tubin, Tõnu Kõrvits, Urmas Sisask, Eduard Oja, Jaan Koha, Heino Eller, Arvo Pärt, Lepo Sumera, Jüri Reinvere and other Estonian composers have been introduced to Japanese audience. Akiba has also published articles about Estonian music, including „Urmas Sisask's Starry Sky Cycle“ in Japanese magazine Musica Nova in 2008.

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