Kazuma Miura Quintet (Quintet)

The quintet is the band formation that bandoneonist and composer Astor Piazzolla explored throughout his life.

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<Member Profiles>

Kazuma Miura (Bandoneon)

Began playing bandoneon at age 10. In 2006, met Nestor Marconi, the pinnacle of the bandoneon world, at the Beppu Argerich Music Festival. Subsequently, funded his own travel to Argentina using proceeds from his self-produced CD sales, and has studied under Marconi to this day. In 2008, became the first Japanese and youngest ever runner-up at the International Piazzolla Competition. Received the 2014 Idemitsu Music Award. In 2017, he founded the chamber orchestra “Tokyo Grand Solists,” which he leads. In 2022, he released the album “Piazzolla Standard & Beyond” with the Kazuma Miura Quintet on Nippon Columbia, a fitting finale to the Piazzolla Year. He is gaining attention across various fields as a talented young bandoneonist, including performing the travelogue music for the NHK historical drama “Soten wo Tsuke.”

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Yasunao Ishida, Violin

Graduated top of his class from Kunitachi College of Music, simultaneously receiving the Yatabe Prize. After serving as concertmaster of the Shinsei Nippon Symphony Orchestra, he became the solo concertmaster of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra in 2001. Since then, he has become the “face of the Kanagawa Philharmonic” and currently shoulders the important responsibility as principal solo concertmaster. He has received the Kanagawa Cultural Award Future Prize and the Yokohama Cultural Award for Culture and Arts Encouragement. He also shines uniquely in various ensembles, including the YAMATO String Quartet, which he joined at its founding, and “Ishida-gumi,” an all-male string ensemble he produced. Since April 2020, he has concurrently served as Special Guest Concertmaster of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. His latest album, “PIAZZOLA LIVE,” was released in December 2021. In June 2022, he published his first book, “Before Being a Musician, Be Human!” His instruments are a 1690 G. Tononi and a 1726 M. Goffriller.

 

Iwahisa Kuroki, Contrabass

Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and completed the Master's program at its Graduate School. Received the Ataka Prize in 1987 and the Fukushima Prize in 1988. Has performed with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ken'ichiro Kobayashi, the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Hans Martin Schneidt, and the Tokyo Mozart Players conducted by Tatsunori Numajiri. Served as a part-time lecturer in the Orchestra Research Department at Tokyo University of the Arts from 1990 to 2004. Served as Principal Player of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra from 2001 to 2008. Lecturer at Toho Gakuen College of Music and Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. Also active in cross-genre performances including recordings for film scores (such as “Departures”), commercials, and dramas. His self-produced “Cultural Anthropology Lecture Series” has been well-received. Appointed Season Program Producer at Nagano City Art Museum in 2019.

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Takehiko Yamada, Piano

Graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School, Composition Department. In 1993, entered the Piano Accompaniment Department at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique as a French government scholarship student. Graduated with the Premier Prix (First Prize) after passing all seven types of graduation public examinations in his class with unanimous approval from the jury. He performed as a soloist with French ensembles such as 2e2m, L'itineraire, and Triton2, introducing contemporary music. After returning to Japan, he collaborated with numerous performers as a pianist, earning acclaim for his precise yet expansive ensemble playing and richly colored tone. He gained deep trust as a partner to soloists in concerts, recordings, and broadcasts. Since 2017, he has served as Music Director for the Asakusa Opera Centennial Project “Ah, Asakusa, City of Dreams!”, composing and arranging all pieces for performances at Asakusa's Toyokan and other venues.

 

Junpei Ohtsubo, Guitar

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, he began playing electric guitar at age 15 and classical guitar at age 16. He is a guitarist known for his versatility across various musical fields. He won top honors at the 34th Japan Guitar Competition and placed highly at the 1st East End International Guitar Competition and the 45th Classical Guitar Competition. He began composing in 2019. In 2022, he was selected and received a special prize at the 2nd Portugal International Guitar Composition Competition. In 2023, he placed 3rd at the 4th Barcelona International Guitar Composition Competition “Miguel Llobet”. In recent years, he has expanded his activities as a composer-guitarist, with his works being performed by various guitarists. He graduated from Elisabeth University of Music. He studied guitar under Mr. Fuminori Nagano, Mr. Masakazu Tokutake, and Mr. Norio Sato.

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