Winner of "Concours international Marguerite-Long=Jacques-Thibaud" Piano Division! Ask pianist Seiya Kamei - Jan 20, 2023

Winner of "Concours international Marguerite-Long=Jacques-Thibaud" Piano Division! Ask pianist Seiya Kamei. Jan 20, 2023

1)

This time, with Hyuk Lee from South Korea, Seiya Kamei won first prize in the piano category at the "Concours International Marguerite-Long=Jacques-Thibaud" held in Paris, France, last November!

This is the hidden story of pianist Seiya Kamei.

Seiya Kamei was born in 2001. He is from Aichi Prefecture. First, Mr Kamei told me how he started playing the piano.

2)

"I started learning the piano when I was four years old, and it seems that my parents saw me playing with a piano toy all the time when I was little. That's why I started.

The first teacher was a young local teacher who came to teach at a nearby kindergarten, and he was a teacher who respected the songs I wanted to do. Even though I was small, there were a lot of challenging pieces that I wanted to play.

For example, when I was in fourth grade, I said I wanted to play "Liszt: La Campanella", and I said I wanted to play "Chopin: Polonaise No.6 'Héroïque'".

"If you study this kind of piece when you're a bit older, you'll see something different again, but the feeling of wanting to do it now is significant, so why don't you try it? "

I think it's thanks to that teacher that I've been able to continue playing the piano and keep feeling that I like myself.

3)

Kamei joined the music department at high school. And the university is entered by skipping grades. At 17, he entered the music department of Toho Gakuen University. And that year, he won 1st prize in the piano section of the Japan Music Competition. He also won the Grand Prix at the PTNA Piano Competition Special Class.

4)

"Pitina has been competing in different categories since she was young, but this class was my ultimate goal. It was also a competition I had wanted to participate in for a long time.

I've taken Pitina from different classes, starting with the younger ones and finally, this class, which is the most challenging. The challenge coincided with the timing of this first year of university. "

5)

In 2022, Mr Kamei will challenge the Concours International Marguerite-Long=Jacques-Thibaud, who did not pass the qualifying round three years ago. He passed the preliminary round and the first round. In the following semi-final, the style was to compose a 45-minute programme with a set piece and a piece of one's own choice.

6)

I was apprehensive about this, but I wanted to choose songs that would tell a meaningful story over 45 minutes.

First of all, Liszt: the work Gaspard de la nuit is the axis, and then Chopin: 24 Preludes Op.

Although the third piece is rare, it was written by a Japanese composer called Toshio Hosokawa and sent to a French composer, Pierre Boulez. It is Toshio Hosokawa: "Haiku" for Pierre Boulez.

As a Japanese person, I wanted to play this work for the French competition, so I tried to put together a programme that had much respect for France.

And finally, my favourite work, Liszt: Reminiscences de Norma de Bellini, is beautiful.

7)

Mr Kamei, who reached the final of the competition. The final is a juried performance with orchestra. Mr Kamei chose Saint-Saens: The Complete 5 Piano Concertos, a set piece for the first challenge three years ago.

Mr Kamei talked about the charm of this piece.