Yuhki Kuramoto Celebrates Decade in Korea

Photo courtesy of Credia

Beloved pianist, composer and arranger Yuhki Kuramoto fetes a decade of music-making with South Korean fans in his ``Romance’’ tour through March 17.

``In my 10 years of performing in Korea, my first concert at Seoul Arts Center, in a full house of 2,800 people, remains my fondest memory,’’ said the 58-year-old in an interview in Seoul, Monday. Always wearing a pleasant smile, he didn’t forget to make polite greetings in Korean every now and then.

When asked about what was special about the Korean audience, Kuramoto said that he is simply grateful for their love. ``Koreans were the first ones to appreciate my work,’’ he said.

Here, Kuramoto is considered the father of new age music, along with artists like George Winston. ``I don’t really pay attention to how my music is categorized. My pieces are rooted in classical music and centers around beautiful tunes. They aren’t long, like pop, and have a singing melody that Koreans seem to like,’’ he said.

On his anniversary tour, the pianist is offering his most popular works, including ``Meditation,’’ ``Romance,’’ and his first hit, ``Lake Louise.’’ Of ``heuinoaerak,’’ or the four cornerstones of human emotion _ pleasure, anger, happiness and sorrow _ Kuramoto’s serene music only touches upon the latter two.

``With classical symphonies, I often feel they shout `hey, look, isn’t this grand’ but I don’t want that in my work. I wish to make music that is calming, joyful and touching. There is a lot of creative, abstruse music in the world but they can fatigue listeners. One may say that my music, in that sense, lacks creativity because it offers nothing groundbreaking. It is, however, difficult to make something with limited ingredients,’’ said the artist.

Kuramoto was consistently frank and humble as he spoke about his music, but his confidence in his work and his deep affection didn’t waver an inch. ``In Korea, I get questions _ which I know aren’t intended to harass me since the criticism is true _ about my lack of creativity,’’ he said about offering similar programs in concerts. But he still has over 300 _ and counting _ pieces he has yet to share. He continues to be inspired by romance, nature and the people he meets for his art. >>More