Voyage de l'esprit/Franck.Ravel.Dutilleux (Classic) [Piano Solo]

Record Geijutsu *Special Selection*Album
From Franck to Dutilleux :A Journey through the Lineage of French Piano Music
Rikako Murata, renowned for her piano duo with Pascal Devoyon, presents her first solo album.
Franck speaks as if his music seeps deep into the heart. His majestic and supremely dignified *words of sound*sometimes strike the listener with piercing intensity.
Ravel, by contrast, places many doors before his inner world, hiding it shyly at the very depths of his heart. Opening these doors one by one with the utmost care, we glimpse inside and there unfolds the world of Ravel the Romantic. Once seen, one inevitably falls captive to his charm.
Dutilleux draws the listener freely into other dimensions: from a dazzling world of blinding light to a weightless drift through cosmic space, and then into realms that awaken magma-like, primordial energy*an unmistakably individual musical language
With this CD, titled *Voyage de l Esprit*, I hope you will fully enjoy traveling through the worlds of these three composers.
:Rikako Murata
Recording Information
:César Franck: Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18
:Maurice Ravel: Miroirs
(Noctuelles / Oiseaux tristes / Une barque sur locéan / Alborada del gracioso / La vallée des cloches)
:Henri Dutilleux: Piano Sonata

Rikako Murata (piano)
:Recording dates: January 10 to 12, 2023
:Recording venue: Starts Otakanomori Hall, Chiba, Japan
:Recording format: Stereo (Digital / Session)


Rikako Murata : Profile

A pianist of formidable artistry, Rikako Murata has appeared nearly thirty times as a concerto soloist at the legendary Berlin Philharmonie.

After graduating from the Tokyo University of the Arts, she studied at the Berlin University of the Arts as a DAAD (German Government) scholarship student, graduating with the highest distinction by unanimous decision. She continued her studies in the Konzertexamen program and obtained the German National Performers Diploma. She has received prizes at numerous international competitions, including the Porto International Competition.

From 2003 to 2018, she served as Lecturer in Piano at the Berlin University of the Arts. As a soloist, she has been invited annually to perform at the Berlin Philharmonie, collaborating with orchestras nearly thirty times to date. Her concerto repertoire comprises close to thirty works.

Alongside her intensive activities as a piano duo with Pascal Devoyon, whose CD releases have been selected as Record Geijutsu *Special Selections,*she is also a highly experienced chamber musician, performing at international music festivals worldwide. Her collaborators include Steven Isserlis, Pavel Vernikov, Donsk Kang, and many other distinguished artists.

Murata regularly contributes articles to music journals and has been deeply engaged in music education for nearly two decades through masterclasses, as well as through work as a translator and interpreter for music publications and lectures.

Since 2022, she has served as Artistic Director of the NAGAREYAMA International Chamber Music Festival, actively inviting leading performers from Japan and abroad with the aim of establishing a high-quality international chamber music festival.