After graduating from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts, pianist Aki Kuroda went on to further her studies in Italy with Bruno Mezzena, receiving a degree in twentieth-century piano music with distinction from the Accademia Musicale Pescarese.

Aki performs extensively as a soloist and a chamber musician both in Japan and in Europe, especially in Italy. She won first prizes in the 1993 French Music Competition and the 1997 Contemporary Music Competition. In 1995, she was awarded the Xavier Montsalvage Prize for Performance of Contemporary Piano Music in Spain.

Besides the classical repertoire, Kuroda has performed pieces by many contemporary composers, such as Ligeti, Xenakis, Donatoni, Boulez, Campo, Mochizuki and Takemitsu. In 2003 she gave a brilliant performance in the Teatro Regio di Parma, playing Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and a composition dedicated to her by Maurizio Pisati.

I recall meeting the great Maestro Alberto Ginestera in Geneva, 1977 to gain his approval of my adaptation of the 3rd Movement of his piano concerto, which I named "Toccata". His approval or dismissal of my adaptation weighed heavily upon myself and my band (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) because we'd spent such a lot of time getting it right. I'd originally heard Ginesteras' work in 1969. Earlier, 1971, while creating "Tarkus," Ginestera's influence was pervasive to such an extent that I wanted to create sounds such as his but using unconventional instruments such as the Moog modular system proved testing...nevertheless I gained the Maestro's approval.

It's relatively easy to re-arrange a song that everyone knows and small consolation to find out that although the composer can't sing- he can play. I remember my father advising me when I was fifteen,

"Son, you're never going to make a living if people can’t sing what you write."

I also remember going down to a London nightclub "1982" in the hope of finding a companion. I sat next to a beautiful lady that recognized me from being in the "Rock" business.

"Sing something I might recognize," she requested.

I thought I might try and sing "Lucky Man" but gave up as I sing so bad, deaf people refuse to read my lips.

Trying to sing, "Tarkus" proved more testing furthering my father's point- "Don't sing, play! Needless to say I didn't score that night but went on scoring in manuscript form instead with my first piano concerto.

In this recording is a great degree of controlled sensitivity/madness contained within extreme accuracy while Aki Kuroda's interpretation of "Tarkus" does everything that I aspire to. When I composed this suite I sat at a piano. When I recorded and performed it I made the fullest use of electronics and pyrotechnics, most times to extreme excess. In those days I was playing to 14,000-seated arenas and electronics were necessary in order to carry the sound often beyond the venue. Indeed, with ELP we performed and recorded this piece in quadraphonic sound. Aki proves this is not necessary and approaches "Tarkus" in the manner it was intended. Along with taking extreme license with her fellow musicians. They all encapsulate the meaning of underground/overgound in the 70's with such classical finesse.

Here all the targets hit...played without Moog synthesizers blowing up smoke and ribbon controllers firing flares into the audience, it's what I've always wanted to hear. If I hadn't written it I'd want to listen to stuff like this! I am really, really honoured.

THANK YOU AKI,
KEITH EMERSON