[On Stage] "Exciting Performance Comparing Chopin and Skryabin's 24 Preludes Expected"

Japanese Pianist Fujita Mao's First Solo Recital in Korea
Gala Concerts After Winning Second Prize at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition
"Korean Audiences Are Focused on Every Note and Full of Passion"

"Scriabin was the composer who liked Chopin the most and was deeply immersed in Chopin's music. The fact that Scriabin composed 24 preludes like Chopin proves this. This concert, which performs the 24 preludes of both composers, will be interesting as it allows listeners to compare various aspects such as timbre, harmony, and the way the pieces develop."

Japanese pianist Fujita Mao stated this in a written interview with Asia Economy ahead of his first solo recital in Korea, which will be held on the 23rd at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall. He will take the stage as the first performer in the 'The Great Pianist Series' planned by the concert planning company Master Media. In the first part of the concert, Fujita will perform 24 preludes and a fantasy by Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872?1915), and in the second part, he will play 24 preludes by Fr?d?ric Chopin (1810?1849).

He explained, "The works of Chopin, composed in the 1830s, and Scriabin, composed in the 1890s, form an interesting contrast in music history, which is very meaningful. The harmony and musical forms used changed completely within about 50 to 60 years during the Romantic era."

Fujita Mao [Photo provided by Mast Media, (c) Dovile Sermokas]

Fujita was born in Tokyo in 1998 and began learning piano in his childhood, following his older brother. After entering the Tokyo College of Music High School, he stood out by winning consecutive first prizes at the Swiss Clara Haskil Competition and the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. In 2019, he won second place at the Tchaikovsky International Competition, one of the world's top three competitions.

After placing at the Tchaikovsky Competition, he participated in gala concerts and made his first performance in Korea. In 2023, he appeared as a soloist during the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra's Korea tour conducted by Shemon Bichkov. Fujita said he was very impressed by the Korean audience at that time.

"The Korean audience showed extremely high concentration. I felt they listened attentively to every single note. At the same time, I was impressed by how passionate and lively the audience was. I am very happy to be able to stand in front of Korean audiences for my first solo recital in Korea."

Fujita also expressed great curiosity about Korea.

"There are many excellent performers in Korea. I have always been curious about the culture they grew up in and what Korean education is like."

He said he knows many Korean performers and especially mentioned Cho Seong-jin. "I know pianist Cho Seong-jin well. His recently released Ravel album is excellent, and I think he is a musician who performs Chopin's music really wonderfully."

Fujita attracted attention in 2021 by signing an exclusive contract with Sony Classical, becoming the first Japanese pianist to do so. Previously, Japanese artists who signed exclusive contracts with Sony Classical, Midori Goto and Daishin Kashimoto, were both violinists.

Fujita's debut album released by Sony Classical in 2022 was also a hot topic. It contained all 18 Mozart piano sonatas on five CDs. His 2021 performance at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland also drew attention. Over about two weeks, he performed all 18 Mozart piano sonatas and Piano Concerto No. 20 in six concerts. Since then, Fujita has gained a reputation as a Mozart specialist.

Fujita emphasized that Mozart is his favorite composer.

"I think I perform Mozart's pieces more than half the time when collaborating with orchestras. Although I am still young, I consider myself lucky to have a definite strength in Mozart. It is very fortunate that Mozart left as many as 27 different concertos. This allows me to study and challenge a new concerto every year."

Fujita Mao [Photo provided by Mast Media, (c) Dovile Sermokas]

Fujita plans to explore and perform works by various composers in the future, not just Mozart.

"In the 2026?2027 season, I plan to perform works by Austrian and German composers such as Brahms, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Alban Berg. Wagner might also be included. After that, I plan to prepare works by French composers. I intend to cover pieces by Debussy, Ravel, Franck, and others."

Fujita said, "I am always very happy that there are countless works I still have to perform. Even if a day comes far in the future when I can no longer perform, I want to continue practicing for my music."