by Peter | Feb 28, 2014 | Japanese Arts, News
The koto is considered a national musical instrument of Japan. It has 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the width of the wooden body, which is some six feet long. Its origins can be traced back to the Chinese zheng, which was first introduced to...
by Peter | Feb 28, 2014 | Jazz & Popular, News, United States of AmericaRA
Jacob Koller performing on stage Listening to the soundtrack album of a memorable movie enables those who saw the movie to recall and implicitly re-experience scenes from the film. As Time Goes By from the romantic scene in the movie Casablanca released in 1942, and...
by Peter | Feb 28, 2014 | Jazz & Popular, KoreaRA, News, TaiwanRA
Cheuni (left) and Ouyand Feifei (right) The legendary diva of Asia, Ouyand Feifei, began her career in Taipei in 1967; she came to Japan in 1971 and in the same year scored a number one hit with her debut single entitled Ame no Midousuji (Rainy Avenue of Midosuji),...
by Peter | Dec 22, 2013 | Cultural Exchange, Jazz & Popular, News, SwedenRA
A cappella—a colorful array of wonderful voices in harmony A cappella is the Italian term historically referred to music performed “in the style of the chapel”—vocal music without instrumental accompaniment—typically performed as part of religious...
by Peter | Dec 22, 2013 | Independent Productions, Jazz & Popular, News
The late Hibari Misora’s performance projected on to a screen Hibari Misora, which means “lark in a beautiful sky,” is the name of Japan’s most famous multifaceted singer, actress and cultural icon of the post WWII era in Japan, offering people...
by Peter | Dec 22, 2013 | BrazilRA, Cultural Exchange, News, Orchestral
Vieira plays at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater Grand Concert Hall “Music speaks directly to the heart. This response, this echo within the heart, is proof that human hearts can transcend the barriers of time and space and nationality. Exchanges in the field of...
