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Having wowed much of the Eastern Hemisphere for years, classical pianist Fuzjko Hemming is preparing for her introduction to the United States. Having been born into humble circumstances, child of a Japanese mother and Swedish father, she has felt rootless, too Asian in appearance for Sweden, and in Japan constricted by the society's stratified and class-oriented way of life. Then, as she was starting to gain traction as a professional musician, her promising career was cut short. - Fuzjko lost all hearing in her left ear after battling a serious cold. At 16, she already lost her hearing in her right ear due to illness. Completely deaf for 2 years, she eventually had 40% of her hearing restored in her left ear.

After living in poverty in Europe for many years before returning to Japan and gaining acclaim for her music - critics hailed her as being "born to play Chopin and Liszt " In 1999, Japan's NHK Television aired a documentary of her life and she released her debut album, La Campanella, which sold more than two million copies, a rare accomplishment for any classical artist She also has won an unprecedented four Classical Album of the Year Awards at the Japan Gold Disc Awards, another extraordinary achievement for any artist, let alone a classical artist She remains the only four-time Gold Disc Award winner.

Since that time she has recorded numerous successful albums - invigorating collections of classical interpretations, five of which are being released for the first time in the U.S. on her label Domo Records: Echoes of Eternity, La Campanella, Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1, Nocturnes of Melancholy, Live at Carnegie Hall.

On the new album, Fuzjko, the artist performs largely romantic repertoire ranging from Beethoven's "The Tempest" sonata to works by Chopin, Liszt, Scarlatti and Debussy. In each piece, whether performing Chopin's Nocturnes or Liszt's bravura pieces "La Campanella" and "Grand Etudes D'Apres Paganini No. 6", Fuzjko infuses poetry to these timeless compositions, and always in her own eminently attractive style. The warmth of Fuzjko's sound can also be heard in Scarlatti's Sonata K.162 and Debussy's "Claire De Lune". Although much of the repertoire is familiar, Fuzjko also dips into lesser known works like Liszt's transcription of Schumann's "Fruhlinghsnacht", and Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Etudes No.3, and always played with her celebrated musicality much in evidence.

The celebrated virtuoso blends the classicality of her influences such as Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin with the sophisticated approach of her mentors (Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan) to create an emotional delivery of exquisite craftsmanship. She's been known to bring some fans to tears with her moving immersion in her music.

Fuzjko is also a gifted painter. She took an interest in painting and drawing at the same time she was learning to play piano; both her father and her mother's sister were painters. While on location in Europe, Fuzjko can usually be found painting in between tour stops. She made her art debut in Ginza, Japan in the early 2000s. The Embassy of Sweden also showcased her portraits in May 2003. More recently, Fuzjko's 20-piece copperplate exhibition was on display in Paris throughout February and March 2009. Her delicate water-color display marks the cover of Fuzjko.

With her strikingly unorthodox playing style and intricate ethnic roots, it's evident that Fuzjko's true home is at the piano, where she reveals herself as a true artist of the world.

Track List

01. Ludwigvan Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.17 in D Minor, Op.3I-2, III. Allegretto, "The Tempest"
02. Frederic Chopin - Nocturne in B Flat Minor, Op.9-I
03. Franz Liszt - La Campanella (Grandes Etudes de Paganini, No.3 in G Sharp Minor), S.I4I-3
04. Franz Liszt - Fruhlingsnacht (Schumann Transcription), S.568
05. Franz Liszt - Theme And Variations (Grandes Etudes de Paganini, No.6 in A Minor), S.I4I-6
06. Frederic Chopin - Etude in A Flat Major, Op.25-I, "Aeolian Harp"
07. Frederic Chopin - Waltz in E Flat Major, Op.I8-I, "Grandes Valse Brillante"
08. Franz Liszt - Liebestraume (Three Nocturnes for Piano, No.3, in A Flat Major), S.54I-3
09. Domenico Scarlatti - Sonata in E Major, Kk.380, Andante Comodo
10. Frederic Chopin - Trois Nouvelles Etudes, No.I in F Minor, Andantino
11. Frederic Chopin - Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op.9-2
12. Claude Debussy - Suite Bergamasque, III. Clair De Lune

52nd GRAMMY NOMINEE BEST NEW AGE ALBUM

Impressions Of The West Lake is a modern day opera conceived and directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Hero, Curse of the Golden Flower), the visionary artist behind the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The production is highlighted by music composed by the Grammy and Golden Globe Award winning artist Kitaro. This pairing of East-meets-West is a rare combination of two artists at the peak of their creative talents.

The opera also marks a reunion for Kitaro and music arranger Randy Miller, the pair's first effort together since the Golden Globe-winning soundtrack to Oliver Stone’s 1993 film Heaven and Earth. This opera is another impressive credit for Miller, whose lengthy career as a composer, orchestrator, and conductor for films includes such highlights as Without Limits, First Snow, and The Soong Sisters (Best Original Score, Hong Kong Film Award). The show’s soundtrack also features rising Chinese pop star Jane Zhang, a gifted young performer who provides stunning vocals to the production on the title track, "Impressions Of The Westlake".

Through the course of his career, Kitaro has sold millions of albums, CD's and DVD's worldwide. Kitaro's various sound collaborations and resonant, multi-textured compositions, with their crescendos of passion and oases of serenity, truly defy the constraints of any genre. His pioneering fusion of cultures, techniques and spheres of consciousness is truly his own. With Impressions Of The West Lake, Kitaro continues to explore new, uncharted terrain with his magnificently expansive vision and ever-questing spirit.

Track List

01. The Inmost Feeling Ripples
02. Aria Di West Lake
03. Fish Dive In The Lake
04. The Moon On The Lake
05. Impressions Of The West Lake
06. Zen
07. Lotus
08. Reflection Of The Moon
09. Romance
10. Spirit Of The West Lake

This two-disc set featuring 19 compositions is a wonderful glimpse into the great civilizations past through the eyes of musical pioneer and Grammy Award winning composer, Kitaro. In An Ancient Journey, Kitaro takes his audience on a trek to worlds far away. Listeners embark on a mysterious crusade, witnessing "the texture, life and spirit of the world's ancient people." Traditional Middle Eastern and Chinese instruments in addition to one of his favorite technological advances, the analogue synthesizer, make An Ancient Journey a melodic voyage, which is vintage Kitaro. In addition to his signature arrangements, the recording features a new addition to Kitaro's musician family, Kristin Kanda on flute.
Kitaro was commissioned to record the accompanying soundtrack to the NHK television special, "Messages From the Past". An Ancient Journey continues this campaign, which spawned the creation of the 2001 Grammy Nominated release, Ancient..

Song List

Disk 1
01. Whisper
02. Daichi
03. Tabiji
04. Wave of Sand
05. Golden Mask
06. Fairy of Water
07. Sampona Dance
08. Toward the East
09. Maya Magic

Disk 2
01. Sumerian Magic
02. Inca
03. Wonderland I
04. Pray for Being
05. Sitara IV
06. Mori no Tami
07. The Pharaoh
08. Wonderland II
09. Main Theme Nile - Version II
10. Sumerian Magic II

Kitaro picks up the path of his sacred journey through Shikoku, an island that has 88 temples, each with its own distinct temple bells. The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Volume 3, is the latest in a projected multi-disc series in which the Japanese keyboardist has been recording those bells and working them into the matrix of his music. Taking its name from Kukai, a Japanese monk and founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism in the 9th century, the series follows a path that gets more languid with each album. The synthesist has jettisoned most of the sappy strings that marred his previous journeys, opting for floating, ambient spaces centered around organic sounds. "Crystal Winds" might be the most carefully formed, albeit rhythm-free and melodically amorphous track Kitaro has composed in years. It builds from a floating array of Native American flute, zithers, Balinese gamelan, temple bells, and harmonic singing merging into filter-swept synthesizer before a brief santoor melody is teased out of it. It's not long before Kitaro tosses in electric-guitar leads on the grandiose sweep of "After the Rain," replete with his patented whooping Korg lead lines. If he'd left out the sampled choirs and strings, it might've risen above generic easy-listening new age, which is still preferable to "Winds Blow over the Hill," a thinly veiled lift from his own Silk Road that makes it sound like a score for a sanatorium. But Kitaro redeems himself with the last two tracks, a hypnotic jam with some uncharacteristically raving guitar over a sequencer ostinato called "Voice in Blue," and "Circle Dance," a ritualistic piece for bells, flute, and what sounds like metal mixing bowls. I kept looking into the kitchen to see if my wife was making something, but I liked the way it added three-dimensionality to the piece. With The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Volume 3, Kitaro gives us hope that the trek might be worth continuing.

Song List

01. Sky And Ocean
02. Crystal Winds
03. After The Rain
04. Sacred Fountain
05. Winds Blow Over The Hill
06. Into The Forest
07. Voice In Blue
08. Circle Dance

43rd GRAMMY WINNING ALBUM (Best New Age Album)

"Thinking of You" is a resplendent expression of the beauty unearthed in nature portrayed musically as only Kitaro can.
Woven within a musical tapestry of song, Kitaro brings you ten astounding compositions rendering light to the environment of which many take for granted. As Kitaro notes, "Living close to this wonderful nature is the discovery of the joy of life everyday".
This Grammy Award winning release has garnered the accolades of die-hard and newcomers alike. As Kitaro remarks, "the 'You' in the titles signifies people close to me, those near and those far away from me. I tried to speak to each one of them through this musical expression."

Song List

01. Estrella
02. Mercury
03. Cosmic Wave
04. Harmony of the Forest
05. Fiesta
06. Thinking of You
07. Spirit of Water
08. Stream
09. Space II
10. Del Mar

Music Industry News

Kitaro Featuring Supersar Jane Zhang Nominated for His 13th Grammy For Impressions of the West Lake Release

Category 43 - Best New Age Album (Vocal or Instrumental) - Impressions Of The West Lake- Kitaro [Domo Records]

Los Angeles, CA (December 10, 2009) Impressions of the West Lake represents the latest artistic success in the long, storied career of Kitaro. As a Grammy and Golden Globe award-winning artist, this incredibly prolific composer and performer has continued his reign in the international spotlight and at the forefront of musical innovation ever since the release of his debut solo album, Astral Voyage, in 1978. His numerous recording highlights include 1986's Tenku (his U.S. debut), 1987's The Light of the Spirit (a collaboration with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Kitaro's American breakthrough), as well as Sacred Journey of Ku-kai, a multi-volume series of peace-themed albums inspired by the tragedy of 9/11.
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Celebrate Kitaro's 52nd GRAMMY Nomination!

Kitaro has been Grammy nominated for 13 albums including his latest release, Impressions Of The West Lake. Domo Records presents a very special gift box for this holiday season.

This CD package, signed by Kitaro, includes 13 albums with booklets from each album (DOES NOT COME WITH JEWEL CASES)

Album List
52nd: Impressions Of The West Lake
50th: Sacred Journey of Kukai Volume 3
48th: Sacred Journey of Kukai Volume 2
46th: Sacred Journey of Kukai Volume 1
45th: An Ancient Journey
44th: Ancient
43rd: Thinking of You (Winner)
41st: Gaia Onbashira
38th: An Enchanted Evening
37th: Mandala
35th: Dream
34th: Kojiki
30th: Light of the Spirit

Kitaro's new album "Impressions Of The West Lake" has been nominated for 52nd GRAMMY AWARD!

Field 9 — New Age

Category 43

Best New Age Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)

Impressions Of The West Lake
Kitaro
[Domo Records]

2010 GRAMMY NOMINEE LISTS

Nao Watanabe performed at Star Pine's Cafe in Tokyo on 11/12 and 12/1.

The concert video has been uploaded at youtube.

Click here to see more

Live 2009 11/12

Live 2009 12/1

Kitaro performed in Tokyo on 9/26 and Hong Kong on 10/14.

The concert video has been uploaded at youtube.

It is not clear but people who could not come the concert still can see Kitaro concert.

Live in Japan, "Impressions of the West Lake"

Live in Hong Kong, "Requiem / Oasis (1/3)"

Live in Hong Kong, "Requiem / Oasis (2/3)"

Live in Hong Kong, "Requiem / Oasis (3/3)"

Live in Hong Kong, "Wind & Wave (Double Flute) / South Wind (1/2)"

Live in Hong Kong, "Wind & Wave (Double Flute) / South Wind (2/2)"