On an Endless Road: Itō Noe and the women composers of her time at St Paul's Church (Actors' Church), London on Tuesday 5th March 2024

Please note: This concert is in the past and has already taken place.

On an Endless Road

Itō Noe and the women composers of her time

Add to my Calendar 05-03-2024 19:30 05-03-2024 21:30 36 On an Endless Road A unique opportunity to see renowned singer and musician Akiko Kubota perform in the UK, in a programme of music by and about trailblazing Japanese women. At its heart is a new composition for voice and biwa, written especially for Akiko by British composer Francesca Le Lohé, and first heard in Tokyo in 2023. The biwa is a stringed instrument traditionally used to accompany songs chronicling the achievements of warriors in battle. This new song cycle celebrates the brief life of writer and  feminist anarchist Itō Noe (1895-1923), killed by Japanese state forces when she was just 28. It is sung in Japanese with English surtitles. Alongside this new work, sits beautiful music for violin and piano by three of Noe’s contemporaries, women who broke new ground writing in the Western Classical tradition, performed by international soloists Midori Komachi and Yura Zaiki. Special guest speaker Dr Irena Hayter (Associate Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Leeds), will be here to tell us more about these amazing women and the challenges they faced. Akiko Kubota has performed across Asia, South America and Europe including with the Vienna Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. This is her first visit to the UK.  Francesca Le Lohé is an LSO Soundhub Associate 2022-24 and her opera ‘The Key’ won the prestigious Keizo Saji Prize in Japan in 2019: “An outstanding British talent... This is the timeless way creation should happen.” The Asahi Newspaper  Presented in the UK by Hera in association with Illuminate Women's Music with generous support from the Daiwa Foundation, Japan Foundation and Hinrichsen Foundation.   St Paul's Church (Actors' Church), London DD/MM/YYYY

Details

St Paul's Church (Actors' Church)
Bedford Street
Covent Garden
London
WC2E 9ED
England

Tuesday 5th March 2024
7:30 PM

Programme

Nobu Kōda – Violin Sonata
Michiko Toyama – Japanese Suite
~ Interval ~
Takako Yoshida – Supplication Hundredfold
Francesca Le Lohé – Itō Noe: On an Endless Road

Performers

Yura Zaiki – Piano
Midori Komachi – violin
Akiko Kubota – biwa

Programme Note

A unique opportunity to see renowned singer and musician Akiko Kubota perform in the UK, in a programme of music by and about trailblazing Japanese women.

At its heart is a new composition for voice and biwa, written especially for Akiko by British composer Francesca Le Lohé, and first heard in Tokyo in 2023. The biwa is a stringed instrument traditionally used to accompany songs chronicling the achievements of warriors in battle. This new song cycle celebrates the brief life of writer and feminist anarchist Itō Noe (1895-1923), killed by Japanese state forces when she was just 28. It is sung in Japanese with English surtitles.

Alongside this new work, sits beautiful music for violin and piano by three of Noe’s contemporaries, women who broke new ground writing in the Western Classical tradition, performed by international soloists Midori Komachi and Yura Zaiki. Special guest speaker Dr Irena Hayter (Associate Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Leeds), will be here to tell us more about these amazing women and the challenges they faced.

Akiko Kubota has performed across Asia, South America and Europe including with the Vienna Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. This is her first visit to the UK.

Francesca Le Lohé is an LSO Soundhub Associate 2022-24 and her opera ‘The Key’ won the prestigious Keizo Saji Prize in Japan in 2019: “An outstanding British talent... This is the timeless way creation should happen.” The Asahi Newspaper

Presented in the UK by Hera in association with Illuminate Women's Music with generous support from the Daiwa Foundation, Japan Foundation and Hinrichsen Foundation.

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