Naoko ikeda piano biography

I was born in Sapporo city in the north of Japan and still live here.
Ms.
Naoko Ikeda grew up in the beautiful city of Sapporo in northern Japan, where she still makes her home.

•

Naoko Ikeda lives in Sapporo, Hokkaido in northern Japan, and is passionate about introducing the world to her country’s essence through music. Influenced by classical music, jazz and pop, as well as the piano works of William Gillock, her own music reflects her diverse tastes with beauty, elegance, and humor. Ms. Ikeda holds a piano performance degree from Yamaguchi College of Arts in Japan and currently maintains an energetic schedule as both teacher and composer.

Was there a moment you knew your career path would be a musical one?

Before starting piano lessons at age 6, I took voice lessons! I discovered that even as a child I loved adding lyrics to melodies, and knew that I wanted career in music at age 5. I began more serious music study when I was in junior high.

How has your heritage influenced your music career? What does your heritage mean to you?

I was born and raised in Hokkaido. Japan is an island nation and does not share borders with other countries, so it has its own unique traditions, culture, and aesthetics. The Japanese value the four sea

•

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
Find out more: ABOUT PIANODAO REVIEWS

Following the success of my series of three Graded Gillock collections published by Willis Music last year, I was delighted to be asked to compile a companion collection showcasing the wonderful music of Japanese composer Naoko Ikeda. The collection, now available from Willis Music, can be purchased from the Musicroom website here.

Naoko Ikeda: The Graded Collection includes 24 of Ikeda’s best solo piano pieces, organised in approximate order of difficulty and appropriately grouped according to the UK Grade system from Grade 2 to Grade 5 level.

These stunning pieces would make wonderful selections as “own choices” in Performance Grades, and with six pieces for each of the four grades covered, they provide a rich feast to enhance the player’s development throughout their intermediate playing years.

The pieces have been chosen to offer a flavour of the musical range of this fine composer, ranging from jazz and pop ballads to emotive pieces infused with the musical lan

•

When searching for repertoire for my students to perform at local festivals, I discovered the compositions of Naoko Ikeda, a talented Japanese composer and teacher. Her pieces are full of beautiful, flowing melodies that I thoroughly enjoy teaching and playing. In the interview, Naoko introduces herself and shares the inspiration behind all of her beautiful compositions.

Naoko Ikeda

Can you introduce yourself and tell us your musical background?

I was born in Sapporo city in the north of Japan and still live here. I am a piano teacher and have been publishing original piano works from Willis Music for about 20 years. I started taking singing lessons at the age of 4 and piano lessons at the age of 6 under the supervision of my music-loving parents. I became interested in composing when I encountered William Gillock’s Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style when I was in junior high school. His works are simple and have a beautiful sound, and various scenes come to mind. I thought it would be wonderful if I could make such a rich piece one day.

In addition to Gillock̵