Kazue Sawai
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese koto
player noted for her performance of contemporary classical music
and free improvisation
.
She began studying, at the age of eight, with Michio Miyagi
. She later graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
.
She plays both the 13-string and 17-string kotos. As a soloist, as well as with her koto ensemble, she has performed and worked with John Cage
, Toshi Ichiyanagi
, Yuji Takahashi
, Ayuo
, Roberto Carnevale
, Sofia Gubaidulina
, David Behrman
, Carl Stone
, and many other composers. She has performed in Japan, North America, and Europe.
She was married to the late Tadao Sawai
, who was also a koto player and composer. The couple had a son Hikaru Sawai
(b. 1964), who is also a koto player and composer.
She operates a school in Japan, where she teaches both Japanese and foreign students. Her students include Michio Yagi, Elizabeth Falconer
, Shoko Hikage, and Mei Han
.
Koto (musical instrument)
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
player noted for her performance of contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
and free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
.
She began studying, at the age of eight, with Michio Miyagi
Michio Miyagi
was a Japanese musician, famous for his koto playing.He was born in Kobe. He lost his sight in 1902, when he was 8 years old, and started his study in koto under the guidance of Nakajima Kengyo II, dedicating the rest of his life to the instrument. In 1907 he moved with his family to Incheon, in...
. She later graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
or is one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju, Adachi, Tokyo...
.
She plays both the 13-string and 17-string kotos. As a soloist, as well as with her koto ensemble, she has performed and worked with John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Toshi Ichiyanagi
Toshi Ichiyanagi
is a Japanese composer of avant-garde music. He studied with Tomojiro Ikenouchi and John Cage.One of his most notable works is the 1960 composition, Kaiki, which combined Japanese instruments, shō and koto, and western instruments, harmonica and saxophone. Another work Distance requires the...
, Yuji Takahashi
Yuji Takahashi
is a Japanese composer, performer, pianist and author.Studied under Roh Ogura and Minao Shibata at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. In 1960, he made his debut as a pianist by performing Bo Nilsson's Quantitaten. He lived in Europe from 1963 to 1966 where he worked with Iannis Xenakis. He gave the...
, Ayuo
Ayuo
Ayuo is a Japanese-American composer, poet, lyricist, singer and performer of plucked string instruments including guitar, bouzouki, Irish harp, Chinese zheng, Japanese koto,and medieval European psaltery...
, Roberto Carnevale
Roberto Carnevale
Roberto Carnevale is an Italian composer, pianist and conductor.- Biography and career :Born in Catania, he started studying piano at the age of seven. He took a degree in Arts at the University of Catania and he attended the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena...
, Sofia Gubaidulina
Sofia Gubaidulina
Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina, is a Russian composer of half Russian, half Tatar ethnicity.Gubaidulina's music is marked by the use of unusual instrumental combinations...
, David Behrman
David Behrman
David Behrman is a US composer and the producer of Columbia Records' Music of Our Time series. He was also a founding member of the Sonic Arts Union. He toured with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and has worked with Ben Neill. He was a part of Robert Ashley's Music with Roots in the Aether...
, Carl Stone
Carl Stone
Carl Stone is an American composer, primarily working in the field of live electronic music. His works have been performed in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the Near East.Stone studied composition at the California Institute of the Arts with Morton...
, and many other composers. She has performed in Japan, North America, and Europe.
She was married to the late Tadao Sawai
Tadao Sawai
was a Japanese koto player and composer. He was renowned all over Japan for his skill at the Koto and also received big acclaim from his compositions...
, who was also a koto player and composer. The couple had a son Hikaru Sawai
Hikaru Sawai
is a Japanese koto player and composer. He is the son of the Kazue Sawai and late Tadao Sawai, both of whom are also renowned as koto players and composers....
(b. 1964), who is also a koto player and composer.
She operates a school in Japan, where she teaches both Japanese and foreign students. Her students include Michio Yagi, Elizabeth Falconer
Elizabeth Falconer
Elizabeth Falconer is one of the few American masters of the koto, a traditional zither from Japan. Unusually, she is licensed in two koto schools in Japan. She began playing the koto in 1979. She earned a junshihan from the Seiha Koto School, studying under Nagane Utayumi. This school focused on...
, Shoko Hikage, and Mei Han
Mei Han
Mei Han is a Chinese guzheng performer and scholar.She was born into a military family in Beijing, the youngest of four children. Her father came from Shanxi, and her mother, who is half Miao, came from Hunan. Her maternal grandfather was a scholar, calligrapher, and educator named Long Zhancen...
.