Noriko Ogawa

Working with David Atherton, BBC Radio 3 © R. Cohen

news

In this section you will find Noriko's latest news, we hope you enjoy sharing some of her highlights from the last few years.

New Year, new look Noriko!

Launching her new website, new boxed set on BIS, Reflections on Debussy festival and a new competition with Yamaha and Chethams, Noriko introduces her musical must-haves for 2012.

We are delighted to announce that Noriko Ogawa's new website will be online on Monday 12 December, featuring new media clips, resources and images; this is a timely re-introduction to Noriko before Reflections on Debussy at Bridgewater Hall commences in the New Year. The festival has been heavily featured in recent articles in Classic FM, Pianist Magazine, Creative Boom, Classical Music and International Piano Magazine and provides unique experiences and collaborations to look forward to.

You can also follow Noriko on Twitter as the festival unfolds: http://twitter.com/norikogawa

“…To this day, Debussy remains Ogawa's favourite composer. Her special connection to his music has delighted audiences throughout her career - her complete Debussy cycle on the BIS label won the Gramophone Editor's Choice award and remains a gold standard Debussy recording, and her live performances have enthralled critics the world over…”
International Piano Magazine

“…Forget about the Impressionist label ‘Reflections on Debussy’ will help us to see Debussy in a new way…”
Classic FM Magazine

We are also excited to announce that Noriko will adjudicate a new competition for amateur adult performers, in association with Chethams School of Music, Yamaha and Pianist Magazine. More information can be found at: http://www.pianistmagazine.com/information/2012Amateurcompetition

BIS release Debussy Complete Piano Music

Released on five separate discs, Noriko Ogawa's traversal of the solo piano music of Claude Debussy has been receiving consistent praise in the international music press, with distinctions such as Gramophone Editor's Choice (twice); a top recommendation (‘10/10/10’) on the German website Klassik Heute, ‘Recording of the Month’ on MusicWeb International.com and ‘CD of the Week’ on BBC Radio 3 CD Review.

Along with general acclaim for Noriko Ogawa's approach to the music (“a Debussy interpreter of exceptional class” - International Record Review; “a most elegant, scrupulously sensitive interpreter” - Gramophone), performances of individual works and sets of works have been singled out. In BBC Music Magazine Ogawa's Images and Children's Corner were named benchmark recordings, while Classica-Répertoire placed the second book of Préludes and the set of Études among the most important and convincing versions in the discography. Less well-known works have also been cited, such as the piano score of the children's ballet Boîte à joujoux (“A superlative performance… worth the price of the disc alone” - Gramophone) and Debussy's own transcription for solo piano of Six Épigraphes antiques (“the pianist creates a poetic atmosphere which leaves the listener breathless” - Classica-Répertoire).

The original five discs have now been brought together as a boxed set with the addition of a sixth CD, containing Noriko Ogawa's previously unreleased recordings of Debussy's only work for piano and orchestra, the Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre from 1890, and five school fugues, written as part of Debussy's training at the Paris Conservatoire, and transcribed from the original manuscripts for this occasion.

June 2011 - Noriko Ogawa appointed Associate Artist

Noriko Ogawa is appointed Associate Artist at The Bridgewater Hall. She will lead The Bridgewater Hall's Debussy celebrations, which form the centrepiece of the International Concert Series 2011-12.

PRESS RELEASE:

The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester is proud to announce that the internationally acclaimed pianist Noriko Ogawa is its latest Associate Artist.

She joins Harry Christophers' choir The Sixteen and the New London Consort on the Hall's list of creative partners, who work with the venue's management on innovative programming ideas to help take audiences on ever more exciting musical journeys.

Noriko Ogawa's new role is central to the launch of the Hall's 2011-12 International Concert Series, when she will lead a celebration of Debussy's 150th anniversary, focussing on the composer's special relationship with Japan and the East.

The Reflections on Debussy festival is a series of eight concerts taking place from January to June 2012 which will see The Bridgewater Hall joining forces with the BBC Philharmonic following the successful Mahler in Manchester's series during 2010 in which both organisations played a major role.

The Reflections on Debussy festival will be a fascinating exploration of his major orchestral and piano works, and also his influence on Takemitsu and living Japanese composers. Noriko Ogawa's imaginative list of musical collaborators include violist Nobuko Imai, violinist Kyoko Takezawa as well as her English musical partners Martin Roscoe and Kathy Stott.

June 2011 - Fundraising success for Noriko Ogawa

Noriko has raised a staggering £21,203.09 for the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal through a number of fundraising concerts across the UK, including at Kings Place, London. Noriko, who was at home in Japan at the time, feels fortunate to have survived the earthquake and immediately set about raising as much money as she could doing what she does best - performing. As the operation moves out of the relief and into the recovery phase Noriko hopes to continue raising money to help rebuild the Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall in her hometown which was badly damaged by the earthquake.

March 2011 - Noriko raising Tsunami funds and on BBC

On Wednesday 30 March 2011 Noriko will be giving a fundraising concert at Kings Place, London, to help raise funds in aid of the Japanese Tsunami Appeal by the British Red Cross. Further details will be available in due course and tickets can be purchased through Kings Place - all proceeds from the concert will be given to the Red Cross appeal.

Noriko, who was at home in Japan at the time, feels fortunate to have survived the earthquake. Noriko is scheduled to appear on Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4 on 29 March, and the programme will also highlight the ongoing situation in Japan.

December 2010 - Out of Silence - Noriko Ogawa to translate Susan Tomes' book

Noriko has been commissioned by Shunju-sha, a Tokyo publishing house specialising in books on the arts, philosophy and memoirs, to translate Susan Tomes' book Out of Silence into Japanese. Out of Silence is a diary of a year as a professional pianist and “aims to show something of how everyday life provides ideas for the task of understanding music”. Named one of the ‘Best Books for Christmas 2010’ by The Independent, Out of Silence has been received with wide critical acclaim.

“…Tomes has the unique gift of answering questions about the musical life that every other literary register seems to overlook… these pieces explain pianism with a warmth and shrewdness that shelves of theory will never match… Open this insightful and delightful book on any page and learn with pleasure…”
The Independent, July 2010

Noriko Ogawa, in addition to being a world renowned pianist, is also known in Japan for her regular column in Japan's Music Magazine Musica Nova (2002-2007) and for her articles about music and musicians.