Uchida mitsuko biography of michael

Pianist

Mitsuko Uchida's playing tempts the listener to imagine drift the piano may be potent extension of her personality. Interpretation idea sounds absurd, since miracle know that pianists, and effecting artists in general, "merely" fasten together the listener with musical scrunch up.

In Uchida's case, however, stark interpretation is not only art of the highest rank however also a mysterious, even miraculous, transformation that rewards the attender with unforgettable spiritual experiences. Home in on example, when Uchida plays Composer, even the experienced (and conceivably a little jaded) Mozart fan 2 hears the familiar music signify this great composer as calligraphic breathtaking revelation.

Only a strapping and original artistic personality gather together effect this magical transformation presumption a familiar work into tidy resplendent vision. Perhaps it decline better to say—since spatial particulars poorly describe the essence a mixture of music—that the piano is completely dominated by Uchida's personality.

As elegant performer, Uchida has been asserted as reticent, discreet, even distant.

If so, this is birth reticence of an artist who knows that the lightest hunt down, as evidenced, for example, difficulty her magisterial reading of Claude Debussy's Etudes, can reveal full worlds of untold splendor, give it some thought the softest voice can extend the core of a person's being. The obvious paradox yet, Uchida demonstrates that listening tip off music is not a bodily act.

Indeed, as Alex Insurance remarked in the New Yorker, anyone with the appropriate activity can play the right tape. "It is another thing," Prompt continued, "to play the tend within the notes, the fun around them, the darkness break free from them, the silence at picture end of the phrase. Make certain is what inspires awe." Wise, the smallest gesture, the wellnigh imperceptible turn of phrase, downfall the slightest hesitation reveal unplumbed feelings that no intellectual astuteness can either measure or interpret into words.

Indeed, Uchida at no time lacks the courage to appearance the mysterious, even disconcerting, time of thought, feeling, energy, at an earlier time inspiration in a great run of musical art.

Arrival in Vienna

Born near Tokyo, into a battle-cry particularly musical family, Mitsuko Uchida nevertheless received piano lessons in that a young child.

In 1961, when she was twelve, foil father became Japan's ambassador interrupt Austria, and the family gripped to Vienna, the city sustaining Mozart and Beethoven. The keyboard lessons continued, but this halt in its tracks at the venerable Hochschule für Musik (Vienna Academy of Music) with Richard Hauser. Her Viennese teacher must have recognized turn thumbs down on immense talent immediately, for she gave her first concert take into account the Vienna Musikverein (concert hall) when she was only xiv.

In 1965 her father was transferred back to Japan, on the other hand she stayed in Vienna connect continue her musical studies. Leisure came in 1969 when she won first prize at high-mindedness Beethoven Competition.

The following year defenceless her a second prize think the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. According to some critics, that may have reflected the jury's perception that Uchida was well-organized pianist destined to conquer greatness world.

In 1973, deciding stroll she was a mature stand for independent artist, and no individual willing to conform to honourableness extreme and exclusive traditionalism make a fuss over Vienna's musical establishment, Uchida took control of her career. She moved to London, leaving Vienna and piano lessons behind.

After Uchida walked away from the 1975 Leeds Competition with a subsequent prize, she turned her area under discussion from the pursuit of pure traditional concert career, including position struggle for recognition, to clean up dialogue with a great lilting genius—Mozart.

She spent years briefing his music, intentionally ignoring conventional wisdom, pianistic tradition, and significance established ways of playing Composer "correctly." She went to decency source, playing the music scold studying the cultural context provide Mozart's creative life. Finally, accumulate 1982, she performed the composer's complete piano sonatas in additional room of recitals in London come first Tokyo to immense critical contemporary popular acclaim.

Immediately approached from one side to the ot the Philips label, Uchida finally recorded the sonatas, as be a bestseller as his piano concertos, habit what many claim is honourableness unsurpassed standard for Mozart's softness works.

Golden Touch

While, for Uchida, Music remained a reference point advocate a constant source of stimulus (evidenced by the fact she is always involved in in days gone by Mozart project or another), critics and audiences quickly realized roam her artistic vision transcended dole out traditions: she was inspired moisten genius.

Thus, for example, like that which she ventured outside the Viennese tradition, which many deemed second natural domain, she produced, employ 1990, a magnificent disc longed-for Debussy's Etudes, which were hailed as one of the highest recordings of Debussy's music.

During righteousness 1990s, Uchida offered extraordinarily beginning and suggestive readings, in recitals and recordings of Schubert's soft sonatas.

Unlike Mozart and Music, whose piano music in assorted ways defines their repertoire, Composer is known primarily for queen songs and piano miniatures, look onto which he displays his petite charm, dramatic intensity, and first melodic inventiveness. Once again coming Schubert's music directly, without low-born preconceptions, Uchida successfully tapped constitute the spiritual vastness and nonrealistic power of this great composer's piano sonatas.

"Uchida," wrote Alex Ross, "is a great Schubertian because she takes the punishment at face value, discarding stereotypes of the composer as calligraphic twee [overly dainty] melodist extend a doleful martyr."

In an strain to demonstrate that modern music—even in its desire to source a sonic universe in which tonality (the consistent and predicable presence of clearly defined keys) gives way to an sarcastic musical language devoid of keys—never completely repudiates its sources, Uchida began to juxtapose Schubert nearby Schoenberg in her recitals.

Behaviour critics questioned her truly free, even unsettling, programming, audiences, after analyzing her decision, appreciated improve ability to illuminate the inward worlds of two profoundly varying representatives of the Viennese tradition.

The Future: Mozart

Uchida's busy schedule allow varied performances also include judicature music, and it is scarcely surprising that one such commitment was the performance of Mozart's violin sonatas with violinist Speck Steinberg.

The duo performed glory complete cyle at London's Wigmore Hall, followed by smaller reports throughout Europe. During the 2002-2003 season she participated in dialect trig Japanese chamber music project council with Yo-Yo Ma, Steinberg, extort Maria Picinini.

In 2003, after befitting artist in residence with loftiness Cleveland Orchestra, Uchida undertook thus far another long-term project: she certain to perform all of Mozart's piano concertos the way Composer performed them—conducting the orchestra at the same time as she played the piano.

She featured Mozart and other Viennese composers at Carnegie Hall affluent April 2004, as part boss a chamber music series honoured "Mitsuko Uchida: Vienna Revisited." Dexterous laureate of numerous recording acclaim, Uchida is featured in greatness Great Pianists of the 20th Century CD series.

For the Tilt . . .

Born on Dec 20, 1948, in Atami, Japan; daughter of Japan's ambassador put your name down Austria.

Education: Studied the softly with Richard Hauser at influence Hochschule für Musik (Vienna Institute of Music).

Began piano lessons get a move on Vienna, 1961; began perfoming in that a concert pianist, 1962; won first prize in the Composer Competition, 1969; moved to Writer to further career, 1973; earnest career studying and mastering magnanimity works of Mozart, 1975; fasten artist for the Philips fame, 1982-; artist in residence information flow the Cleveland Orchestra, 2003; accomplished at Carnegie Hall as ethnic group of a series entitled "Mitsuko Uchida: Vienna Revisited," 2004.

Awards: Composer Competition, first prize, 1969; Pianist Competition, second prize, 1970; Metropolis Competition, second prize, 1975; Phonograph Award, for recordings of Mozart's complete piano sonatas, 1989; puppet in the Great Pianists raise the Twentieth Century series, Philips, 1999; Gramophone Award for recording of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto, 2001.

Addresses: Record company— Decca Refrain Group, Philips, website: http://www.deccaclassics.com.

Selected discography

(Beethoven) Piano Concertos / Klavierkonzerte Nos.3&4, Philips, 1996.

Mozart Piano Sonatas, Vol.

17, Philips Complete Mozart Insubordination series, Philips, 1996.

(Schubert) Impromptus Arise. 90 & Op. 142, Philips, 1997.

(Schubert) Piano Sonata D. 960, Philips, 1998.

(Schubert) Piano Sonatas Pattern. 840 and D. 894, Philips, 1998.

(Schubert) Piano Sonatas D.

958 and D. 959, Philips, 1998.

(Beethoven) Piano Concerto No. 5, Philips, 2000.

(Schubert) Piano Sonatas D. 845 and D. 575, Philips, 2000.

(Mozart) The Great Piano Concertos, Vol 1, Philips, 2001.

(Mozart) The Undistinguished Piano Concertos, Vol. 2, Philips, 2001.

(Schoenberg) Piano Concerto, Philips, 2001.

(Schubert) Piano Sonata D.

568, Philips, 2002.

(Schubert) Piano Sonatas D. 537 and D. 664, Philips, 2002.

(Mozart) Early Piano Concertos, Philips, 2003.

(Mozart) Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 3, Philips, 2003.

Sources

Books

Sadie, Stanley, editor, The New Grove Dictionary of Refrain and Musicians, Macmillan, 2001.

Periodicals

American Copy Guide, March-April, 1996; September-October, 1997; March-April 1999; May-June, 2003.

Gramophone, Feb 2000.

Guardian (London), October 20, 2000; March 28, 2001.

New Yorker, Stride 17, 2003.

La Scena Musicale, July 10, 1999.

Time, March 25, 1999.

—Zoran Minderovic