Biwa (Kimura trio)
Tokyo 2019 (revised premiere)
Active both in Japan and overseas, Akiko Kubota pursues expressions unique to the biwa through her performances founded on traditional repertoire, such as the Heike Monogatari. Her performances of original works drawing inspiration from folk tales have gained popularity.
Kubota is also active in contemporary Japanese music ensembles such as Pro Musica Nipponia and Ensemble Muromachi. She has frequently performed for theatre productions and appears on numerous recordings for animation and period drama soundtracks.
Kubota has given many international performances in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Bolivia, and in Hong Kong.
She is a highly anticipated soloist of the next generation having performed the solos in Toru Takemitsu’s work with the orchestras of Brussels (2016), Cologne (2018) and Shanghai (2020). Kubota won first place in the 56th Biwa Music Contest and received an award from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Comments
“I felt that whilst performances take place in the real world, the concept of virtual reality features in the work as the direction immerses audiences in the space and literature.
Also, I must applaud Francesca’s sense for selecting a novel depicting such brilliant psychology!”