3 April 2024
Kikuko Kanai's Capriccio Okinawa on BBC Radio 3
Via the link below you can listen to Okinawan composer Kikuko Kanai’s ‘Capriccio Okinawa’, a work from one of the first Japanese women to compose in a western style, and its first performance in the UK.
She transcribed traditional Okinawan melodies to use in the work, which also features the instrument at the heart of Okinawan folk music, the Sanshin.
In our September 2023 funding round, we awarded a Small Grant to Dr Kawabata at the Royal College of Music to bring over the Sanshin player who is performing in this concert.
Dr Kawabata will also be travelling to Japan to conduct archival research and interviews for a forthcoming journal article on Kanai’s music.