Historical
Piano Concerts Series
About
the Musicians
Misuzu Tanaka
|
As an avid performer of the music of J. S. Bach and Leoš Janáček, Misuzu Tanaka
has established herself as an artist of remarkable individuality with a
rare combination of poetic sensitivity and breathtaking virtuosity.
Recently hailed by critics as a pianist "who dispatched everything with
both dizzying speed and sensitivity”, she is the winner of many
prestigious competitions including First Prize at the Poland Music
Festival Competition and Second prize at the Joan and Daniel Rutenberg
Chamber Music Competition.
An advocate of modern music, she
collaborated with many prominent living composers and gave the world
premieres of works by Paul Moravec (Pulitzer Prize Winner), Alberto E.
Colla, and Ivan Božičević. Ms. Tanaka presented highly acclaimed
recitals at Alice Tully Hall in New York, Gewandhaus in Leipzig,
Germany, Villa Bertramka, Mozart Museum in Prague, Mest’anská Beseda
Velký Sal in Pilsen,
Czech Republic as well as in Gdansk, Poland.
She was also invited as a special guest artist to perform for former
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as well as former Ambassador
of the Slovak Republic, Ronald Weiser.
As a chamber musician,
Ms. Tanaka performed extensively with the Garth Newel Piano Quartet at
the Garth Newel Music Center where she was Resident Pianist and
Co-Artistic Director. During her time there, she collaborated with
prominent artists including James Dunham (Cleveland Quartet), Robert
Merfeld, Richard Faria, and members of the National Symphony Orchestra.
During this time she was also involved in being a mentor and coach to
pianists from the Governor’s Schools in Virginia and to college-level
chamber music groups through the Young Artists Fellowship Program. She
was invited to prestigious summer music festivals in the United States
and Czech Republic such as Bowdoin International Music Festival, Prague
International Piano Masterclasses, and the International Music Academy
in Pilsen where she studied with famed Czech pianist Ivan Moravec. Ms.
Tanaka studied piano at the Juilliard School with Martin Canin and
Chamber music with Jacob Lateiner, Seymour Lipkin, and Robert Mann. She
holds a Masters in Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the
University of Michigan where she studied with Dr. Logan Skelton.
We are privileged to welcome Misuzu Tanaka to her first
appearance in the Historical Piano Concerts Series here in
Ashburnham.
More about Misuzu Tanaka at her website, misuzutanaka.com.