By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
This is the fifth in a series of interviews with the next generation of classical musicians ― ED
Apparently, you don't have to rock to be a star in Japan. One of the most popular guitarists is a soulful classical musician, Kaori Muraji. Praised for her virtuoso technique and emotional breadth, the 29-year-old has gone from being the nation's child prodigy to a full-fledged artist.
``I express what is transmitted from generation to generation. It's just simple but so precious,'' Muraji said about her role as a musician in a recent email interview with The Korea Times.
``Generally it is said that the young don't go to classical music concerts. But recently in Japan, a comic book series, `Nodame Cantabile,' which is about the classical music world, was a huge success. They say that it caused the young to go to orchestra concerts,'' she said. The TV soap version, starring heartthrob Hiroshi Tamaki, also aired in Korea, garnering a sizeable fan base.
``There are many young artists who won foreign competitions and debuted triumphantly. I think the most important thing (for young artists) is to go on performing with their original styles,'' she said.
Muraji herself, with over a dozen singles and albums continuously topping music charts, keeps concertgoers young and old music contemporary. Her pop idol looks don't hurt, either.
Born in Tokyo, she first started fiddling with the guitar at age three, following after her musician father. By 10 she was studying under Japan's celebrated guitarist Shinichi Hukuda and had swept major music competitions and recorded a hit album before her debut recital at 16.
Muraji said she debuted at young age in order to give young Japanese people more exposure to the classical guitar through her performances and CDs. ``(They) like the rock or folk guitar (but haven't really been) involved in classical music,'' she said.
For such a rather ``young'' classical instrument like the classical guitar, it seems modern musicians can play a more active role. ``The history of theclassical guitar is shorter than that of the other popular instruments, and great composers didn't have the occasion to compose for the guitar. Yet there are many possibilities to create great new guitar pieces in the future. We can make guitar history. I love the sensitive, intimate and passionate instrument. This is the guitar,'' she said.
As for describing the character of her music, she said ``I prefer to give it over to the audience, not to describe it by myself. It depends on their imagination. But, ideally I would describe it in the colors of the rainbow or iridescent colors, which are so varied in tones.''