A Musical Travelogue

​ It’s a captivating experience to hear Isaac Albéniz’s iconic piano cycle Iberia performed live in a full-evening recital. The Spanish composer spent four years crafting what he considered his magnum opus: a musical travelogue comprising 12 pieces. He translated the colourful mosaic that is Spain into a kaleidoscopically rich piano cycle that presents a formidable challenge for any pianist. 

Japanese pianist Kotaro Fukuma brings exceptional insight to this monumental work. His victory at the Cleveland International Piano Competition launched an international career in which Iberia has become one of his signature works. His deep understanding of the work’s technical demands and Spanish character shines through in his interpretation. ​​His CD recording has been praised to the heavens. The leading magazine Gramophone wrote: "A wonder of impeccable technique and musicianship. Riding high with the finest of all recordings … emotion – often raging emotion – is reflected with a subtlety that is as haunting and evocative as you would wish … How remarkable to hear every one of Albéniz's teeming notes given with such a luminous and limpid sense of texture that allows for every melodic strand to stand out from its too often engulfing surround … an artist of such rare musical enterprise and quality."

In Iberia, Albéniz interweaves traditional Spanish folk music with impressionistic harmonies. Each piece paints a musical portrait of a specific Spanish location or tradition. In El Albaicín, named after the gypsy quarter in Granada, we hear echoes of Andalusian flamenco. The rhythmic patterns and melodies evoke the emotional depth of the cante jondo (deep song). Through arpeggios and broken chords, the piano sounds like a flamenco guitar. In Lavapiés, a multicultural neighborhood in Madrid, he creates an unforgettable portrait of the grand market with its street musicians.