New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Cocomi, a flutist who made her debut on April 29 with "de l'amour," has released a new live performance video. The video features Cocomi performing Faure's "Sicilienne," the piece she had recorded for her debut album "de l'amour," live with one of Japan's most prominent classical guitarists Kaori Muraji. The live recording took place at TeamLab Planets TOKYO DMM.com in Toyosu. This museum consists of four massive exhibition spaces and two gardens; you walk through water and a garden where you become one with the flowers.
The live video of "Sicilienne" by Cocomi and Kaori Muraji is available for limited preview on Apple
Music starting May 27.
Enjoy the exceptional musical performance by the two artists surrounded by more than 13,000 orchids in a breathtaking art space titled "Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, The Garden and I are One."
Guitarist Kaori Muraji commented: "Cocomi has a beautiful smile, and her heart is as beautiful and gentle as her name［*Cocomi means "beautiful heart" when written in Japanese］. Through this collaboration, I realized how devoted and sincere she is toward classical music. I believe we made some beautiful music together, a borderline between reality and dreams. Now we're such good friends who talk about music, life, and everything!
Cocomi commented: "I have always enjoyed listening to Kaori Muraji's albums, so I was over the moon when I found out that we would be performing together. From our first meeting at the rehearsal to our performance at the magnificent art space, I was continuously impressed throughout the whole time, and my love for guitar has grown even more! I hope you will enjoy our version of "Sicilienne," which depicts a different perspective from that on the album "de l'amour."
The live video of "Sicilienne" by Cocomi and Kaori Muraji is available for limited preview on Apple
Music starting today, May 27. This exclusive performance is now on "CLASSICAL LIVE," a playlist that offers world-class performances from the leading orchestras, concert halls, and artists selected by Apple
Music editors.
Track Listing
Ave
Maria (S.Bach/Gounod) - Niu Niu (piano)
Sicilienne (Fauré ) - MILOŠ (guitar)
Estrellita (Ponce) - Haruma Sato (cello), Miyuji Kaneko (piano)
Vocalise (Rachmaninoff) - Niu Niu (piano)
Le Cygne (Saint-Saens) - MILOŠ (guitar), Yu Manabe Strings
Liebesleid (Kreisler) -
Alexander Gadjiev (piano)
Liebesfreud (Kreisler) - Ray Chen (violin), Tomoharu Ushida (piano)
Après un rêve (Fauré) -
Alexander Gadjiev (piano)
Les chemins de l'amour (Poulenc) - Haruma Sato (cello), Miyuji Kaneko (piano)
Méditation de Thaïs (Massenet) -
David Garrett (violin), Tomoharu Ushida (piano)
Cocomi started on violin and piano at three and flute at eleven. She has finished masterclasses with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Emmanuel Pahud.
She is the three-time winner of the Award for Excellence, one Grand Prize, and an Honorable Mention at the Yamano
Junior Flute Competition.
In 2019, she was awarded the highest prize at the Nihon Sogaku Competition, the first prize in the wind instrument category, the French
Modern Music Award.
Currently, Cocomi is taking College Diploma Course at Toho Gakuen College of Music. She also studies flute under Hiroaki Kanda, principal flutist of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
In Jan. 2021, Cocomi made an appearance as a soloist for Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra's" New Year Concert 2021."
She also performed, the same year, at an annual "Oto Butai" concert (with no audience) held at Nishi Hongan Temple in Kyoto.
Kaori Muraji (Guitar): A winner of numerous competitions from an early age, Muraji released her debut CD, "Espressivo," at 15. She made her orchestra debut with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in 1994. In 1995, she accompanied the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI as a soloist on their Japan tour. She was invited the following year to join them for their subscription concert in their home city of Turin, Italy, which was broadcasted throughout
Europe to a well-received audience. In 1999, she had an extraordinary opportunity to perform the music of
Joaquin Rodrigo of "Concierto de Aranjuez" fame in front of none other than the maestro himself.
Returning to Japan from her studies in France, Muraji vigorously began to pursue her solo career. She has released 9 CDs, including "Cavatina" and a DVD "Contrastes" from Victor Entertainment. In addition to the activities in Japan, she performs regularly in Korea, where she had her first recital in 2000. She now expands her activities to other Asian countries, including China and Vietnam.
In 2003, she became the first Japanese artist to sign an exclusive long-term deal with the prestigious UK classical music label DECCA. Her first DECCA release, "Transformation," won the "Classical Album of the Year(International
Music Category)" at the 19th Japan Gold Disc Awards. She has since released 13 CDs and 2 DVDs from DECCA, including "Rhapsody Japan," which features 4 of her original compositions, including "Bagamoyo." Her previous CD "
Cinema" featured 2 of her arrangements.
Muraji has appeared in many media, including TV commercials for Itoen's Jujitsu Yasai and Toyota Motor Corporation's Allion, and was appointed as the brand ambassador of Mikimoto. Her appearance on TV and radio includes; NHK-E Television's "TV de Study French,"; "Mitsubishi Estate CLASSY CAFE," "The Players," and "RINREI CLASSY LIVING" (J-WAVE FM), etc. In October 2014, she performed the movie's main theme for "Cape Nostalgia," starring Sayuri Yoshinaga. In April 2015, Muraji was featured in NHK-BS Premium's docutainment "On the Island of Prayer and Bonds: Kaori Muraji Visits the Churches in Goto Islands, Nagasaki." May 2021 saw her compose the ending theme for the film "Life's Station," starring Sayuri Yoshinaga.
She is a recipient of numerous awards, including the 5th Idemitsu
Music Award, the 8th Muramatsu Award (1996), the 9th Hotel Okura
Music Award, and the 2017 Best Dresser Award (Academic and Cultural Category), to name a few.
In 2019, she was awarded the BVLGARI AVRORA AWARDS.
