Miura,Kenji Identity CD

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 Pr?lude, Fugue et Variation, Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales and Debussy's Six ?pigraphes 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."

1. Prelude, Fugue Et Variation, Op. 18, FWV 30 (Transcr. Bauer) 2. Romance 3. Rain Tree Sketch II in Memoriam Olivier Messiaen 4. Jeux D'eau, M. 30 5. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales, M. 61: No. 1, Modere Et Tres Franc 6. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales, M. 61: No. 2, Assez Lent, Avec Une Expression Intense 7. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales, M. 61: No. 3, Modere 8. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales, M. 61: No. 4, Assez Anime 9. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales, M. 61: No. 5, Presque Lent, Dans Un Sentiment Intime 10. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales, M. 61: No. 6, Vif 11. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales, M. 61: No. 7, Moins Vif 12. Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales, M. 61: No. 8, Epilogue. Lent 13. 6 Epigraphes Antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 1, Pour Invoquer Pan, Dieu Du Vent D'ete 14. 6 Epigraphes Antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 2, Pour Un Tombeau Sans Nom 15. 6 Epigraphes Antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 3, Pour Que la Nuit Soit Propice 16. 6 Epigraphes Antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 4, Pour la Danseuse Aux Crotales 17. 6 Epigraphes Antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 5, Pour L'egyptienne 18. 6 Epigraphes Antiques, CD 139, L. 131: No. 6, Pour Remercier la Pluie Au Matin 19. L'isle Joyeuse, CD 109, L. 106 20. Mazurka No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 54