Fuzjko Hemming
Japanese-Swedish pianist Fuzjko Hemming, whose debut album at the age of 69 sold more than 2 million copies, will perform a one-night-only recital to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The concert will be held on Sunday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Zipper Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the 2011 Japan Relief Fund for victims of the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011.
Gramophone Magazine said of Hemming: “There is no secret to her appeal: Fuzjko Hemming is not just playing the piano; she is seeming to enter a romantic reverie to find and unfold the music’s beauties and intentions.”
Acclaimed Polish-born cellist Marek Szpakiewicz will also perform. Szpakiewicz has been described by Yo-Yo Ma as an artist whose “energy, motivation, earnestness and generosity of spirit are evident through his work.”
Hemming is beloved in Europe, where she studied and performed over 30 years, and in Japan, where she returned in her 60s and started playing piano for patients in hospitals. In 1999, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK aired a documentary of Hemming’s turbulent life story — how she has flourished as a musician despite obstacles such as partial deafness and a time spent under refugee status. The documentary received a sensational reaction, making her a classical music star in Japan overnight. In the same year (when she was 69), her debut album, “La Campanella,” was released and went on to sell over 2 million copies. Four of her 15 CD releases have received the Classical Album of the Year Award at the Japan Gold Disc Awards.
Marek Szpakiewicz
MARCH 13 PROGRAM:
Schubert: Impromptu Op.90-3
Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
Rachmaninov: Prelude Op.32, No.5
Mozart: Piano Sonata No.11, K.331 (Including Turkish March)
Massenett: “Méditation” from Thaïs
Chopin: Introduction et Polonaise Brillante, Op.3
J. Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.1 & No.5
F. Liszt: Grande Etudes de Paganini No.6, Nuit de Printemps
and La Campanella
The recital will be held on Sunday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., LA 90012. Tickets start at $25, with discounts available for seniors and students. Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets: (800) 838-3006 or https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2489337.