Misuzu Tanaka
JAPAN

Hailed by international press as a pianist “who dispatched everything with both dizzying speed and sensitivity” Today’s Zaman (Turkey) and for her “exceptionally high technical level” General-Anzeiger Bonn (Germany), Misuzu Tanaka has established herself as an artist of remarkable individuality with a rare combination of poetic sensitivity and breathtaking virtuosity.

She has performed in prestigious concert venues throughout the world, from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and Mozart’s Museum at Villa Bertramka in Prague to Alice Tully Hall in New York. Misuzu Tanaka is also a respected regular performer for Music from the Frederick Collection, a leading North-American venue for performance on historical instruments. Enjoying an active solo career in the U.S., she is among the country’s brightest emerging stars.

Her recent debut album which was recorded live on the Concertant Classics label, “Misuzu Tanaka in Concert” features works by Leoš Janáček and J. S. Bach, two composers who have been a constant source of her musical inspiration. The 2017-18 season brings two new releases: a second piano recital in which she further explores music of Janáček as well as music by Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff, and a debut album “Epilogues” with clarinetist Maksim Shtrykov, which focuses on four clarinet sonatas, which are the last works of three leading composers – Johannes Brahms, Camille Saint-Saëns and Francis Poulenc.

Her 2017-18 season includes an instant return engagement on the RIT Performing Artist Series (Rochester, NY) in addition to numerous other debut appearances. Highlights of the past seasons include a concerto debut at the Amadeus Festival (Whitefish, MT) with the Festival Orchestra under the direction of maestro John Zoltek as well as recitals at California State University Sacramento Piano Series, Distinguished Artists Lecture and Concert Series in Santa Cruz (CA), Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago (IL), Pro Musica in San Miguel de Allende (Mexico), Chamber Music Society of Maryland and Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society.

An avid small-ensemble collaborator, Misuzu Tanaka has appeared with prominent artists including James Dunham (Cleveland Quartet) and members of the National Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, together with her artistic partner and critically acclaimed clarinetist Maksim Shtrykov, she began touring throughout the United States as the Shtrykov-Tanaka Duo.

Born in London, United Kingdom where she began her piano lessons at the age of five, she then continued her studies in Japan and in the United States with Martin Canin at The Juilliard School. Her Masters and Doctoral degrees are from University of Michigan where she was a full scholarship recipient studying with Logan Skelton and devoted much time to the study and performance of the works of Leoš Janáček, which led to further studies with Miroslav Brejcha and the late Ivan Moravec in the Czech Republic.

Program

RECITAL ROUND
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Italian Concerto, BWV 971
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Presto

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109
I. Vivace ma non troppo. Adagio espressivo
II. Prestissimo
III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1828) Rondo a capriccio “Rage over a Lost Penny” Op. 129

Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) Piano Sonata 1. X. 1905 “From the Street”

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Variations on a theme of Corelli, Op. 42

SCHUBERT ROUND
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Sonata in C Minor, D. 958
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Minuetto. Allegro – Trio
IV. Allegro

CHAMBER MUSIC ROUND
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 14
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Scherzo. Allegro marcato
III. Andante
IV. Vivace

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Prelude in D Major, Op. 23 No. 4

Prelude in B-flat Major, Op. 23 No. 2

Anton Arensky (1861-1906) Piano Trio in D Minor, Op. 32
I. Allegro moderato
II. Scherzo. Allegro molto
III. Elegia. Adagio
IV. Finale. Allegro non troppo

CONCERTO
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
I. Moderato
II. Adagio sostenuto
III. Allegro scherzando