Piano Recital Keigo Mukawa: Bach, Chopin and Ravel

Music of three centuries at Concertgebouw debut

Keigo Mukawa will be giving a carefully programmed recital at his debut in the Recital Hall on 5 April. The concert will open with Bach’s French Suite No. 5, known for its clarity, temperament, warmth and joyful exuberance, with the lovely Sarabande as its meditative highlight. This will be followed by a work by Fumio Hayasaka, a Japanese composer of film music, among others, who passed away in 1955. Next is Chopin’s gently rocking, quasi-hallucinatory Barcarolle. The first half will end with a return to Bach, this time in Busoni’s arrangement for the piano of his majestic Chaconne for solo violin. The second half of the recital is dedicated exclusively to Ravel. His delightful, light-footed Sonatine, with its bell-like timbres, will be followed by Alborada del gracioso from Miroirs, the pointy yet lugubrious aubade of a Spanish jester. The recital will come full circle with yet another suite: Ravel’s restrained Le tombeau de Couperin. It was written during the First World War, after the composer returned, shell-shocked, from the battlefield where he served as an ambulance driver.

Presenting new release of double CD Ravel

In 2022, Keigo Mukawa recorded Ravel's complete works for solo piano on 2 CDs. Until recently, this release was only available in Japan, but it is currently being re-released in Europe by the quality record label ET’CETERA. Be sure to read the enthusiastic review in the upcoming edition of Luister magazine!