Hikaru Suzuki's 24 Concert Etudes for Pianists | Premiere and Recording

She is a genius! Lately, many new compositions sound similar to music that one already knows from others, or their music does not touch one. Suzuki's works, on the other hand, are as original as they are touching and profound. She really deserves to be known far and wide!

André Manz, winner of the Thurgau Culture Prize and former chairman of the Amriswil Concerts, about our composer Hikaru Suzuki

Last autumn, 7 concerts were performed in Switzerland with three different programmes with only works by the Japanese composer Hikaru Suzuki, who lives in Switzerland. Played by ten outstanding musicians, the audience was shocked and deeply moved. Among them were many world premieres. One of these works, the 24 Concert Etudes for Pianists, was recorded by the three young Swiss pianists Stefan Kägi, Johannes Herrmann and Max Petersen.

World premiere with about half of the 24 Concert Etudes on October 29th, 2022 in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland

These pieces are undoubtedly on a par with the Chopin Etudes! The composer is also concerned with expression, tone painting, character traits at the virtuoso level of piano playing. A wide variety of techniques come into their own. With a great deal of imagination, the listener is led through a world of different tonal landscapes. In the process, the imagination of the sympathetic audience is guided by a variety of playing and sound effects. The powerful as well as the quiet tones, slow, restrained as well as excited, fast passages give the whole event an everlasting tension. It is certainly worthwhile, both for pianists and for interested listeners, to delve into this newly published work with 24 concert etudes.

Jörg Engeli, former cultural representative of the city of Kreuzlingen

The live recording of some pieces can be heard here:

About the musician: Stefan Kägi

Stefan Kägi – chair performer, lamellophone virtuoso and passionate computer musician – studied piano with Karl-Andreas Kolly, improvisation with Lucas Niggli, new music with See Siang Wong, jazz piano with Tim Kleinert and organ with Ursina Caflisch at the Zurich University of the Arts. In his artistic practice, the exploration of banana costumes and algorithms are in lively interaction. He often plays improvised music and performs as a song accompanist. With Breitkopf & Härtel he appeared as co-editor of a new edition of a work by Joachim Raff. Current projects include the Dada/Commedia dell'Arte troupe Piffalamozza, the Japanese-HC techno band Candytoe, an organ/electronic duo, the duo Ohrablüatler and the duo tbc.

About the musician: Johannes Herrmann

Johannes Herrmann studied with Prof. Hans-Jürg Strub at the Zurich University of the Arts. He completed the Specialised Master Performance Chamber Music with Prof. Friedemann Rieger with distinction. In addition to numerous performances in the concert halls of the ZHdK, he plays at the Museum Concerts in Winterthur and the Prélude Concerts in the Tonhalle Zurich. He has also performed at the Hanns Eissler Academy in Berlin, at the Gasteig in Munich and at the Festival for Electroacoustic Music in Monaco. He is president of the association “Musik in der Fabrik” with which he organises and plays concerts. In addition to his concert activities, he is a piano teacher at the Zurich Conservatory Music School and a research associate at the Institute for Computer Sound and Music Technology, with whom he recorded the CD “Les Éspaces Electroacoustiques II”, which received the German Record Critics' Prize.

About the musician: Max Petersen

The German-Australian pianist and composer Max Petersen moves between jazz, classical and improvised music. His training took him to Zurich, Basel, Lugano and New York. With various projects, he has already released five albums which have been praised in the press: “It's hard to believe that this Australian-born pianist who lives in Winterthur is only 25. His technical brilliance is breathtaking, his quotations and allusions range from baroque to bebop, his musicality is grounded in folk song and jazz ballad as well as minimal and new music” (Zürcher Kulturtipp). In addition to his work as a teacher, Max Petersen works with artists from a wide range of disciplines and is aiming for a research degree at the University of Sydney in 2023.

The recording has been released on the internet platform BandCamp and can be purchased via this link.

On the strange genesis of the concert etudes

Actually, she was working on another piece she wanted to do. (A piece for solo piano about Lake Constance). As usual, she had ordered it, but it never came, no matter how long she waited. That could only mean that something was wrong. But she did not understand. So she waited for a long time, but nothing came. She thought, “Then this isn't that piano piece?” and then she heard, “Etude!” She thought, “What? Etude?” At the very moment she asked that, she felt a sense of being open, a great excitement and immediately a myriad of ideas flying around her head. She then wrote one etude a week without a break.All the other pieces came about by her wishing them to be written as if by a kind of "order to the top" (see “About the music”) But only the 24 concert etudes came of their own accord, with great speed.

The sheet music is available here at UE:

Hikaru Suzuki: 14 Konzert Etüden

Orchestration: for piano

Duration: 55'

These etudee were created not only to be practised and played at home, but also to be heard by people in concert. The technique is not extremly difficult for pianists, but highly musical, with an emphasis on the musical aspect.

All the other pieces came into being by my requesting them as if by a kind of "order to the top" (see "about the music"). But only the 24 concert etudes (14 etudes in volume 1 and 10 etudes in volume 2) came by themselves, with great speed. I wrote one etude per week without a break.

Actually, I was working on another piece I wanted to do. (A piano solo about Lake Constance). As usual, I ordered it, but it didn't come, no matter how long I waited. That could only mean that something was wrong. But I didn't understand it. I waited for a long time, but nothing came. I thought: "Then this is not this piano piece!", and then I heard: "Etude! I thought, "What? Etude?" At the very moment I asked that, I became a feeling of openness,, a great excitement and immediately a lot of ideas flying around my head.

When I started composing the studies, I had no idea how many studies would be created. The intensity of the energy and the amount of ideas flying around the top right side of my head made me feel like I could make as many as I wanted. I love odd numbers, so when the fourteenth study was finished, I wanted to do another one to make it fifteen. But no matter how hard I tried, the energy was gone and I couldn't make it. The space that was so open became like a block of stone. So I gave up.

In the studies there are slow pieces with few notes, but I think that's where real musicality is needed. In a concert, a fast and intense piece with many notes and difficult technique often moves the audience, but I think that music with few notes played in silence by a person with high musicality touches people's hearts differently, maybe even more than the other.

Find out more about the work

Hikaru Suzuki: 10 Konzert Etüden

Orchestration: for piano

Duration: 30'

These Concert Etudes Volume 2, also like Volume 1, are not extremely difficult for pianists, but are highly musical, with the emphasis on the musical aspect. These etudes were created not only to be practised and played at home, but also to be heard by people in concert.

I had composed 14 etudes about a year ago, so I didn't expect to compose more etudes. Again, unlike my usual order sample, they came by themselves.

It took me 2-3 days to write for one etude and a few days to prepare and load up for the next piece, so, just like the 14 etudes, one per week.