MIT Affiliated Artist Yukiko Sekino presents a program featuring the world premieres of new works commissioned for this occasion by Mari Kimura and Joseph Di Ponio alongside colorful piano masterpieces by Debussy, Ravel, and Scriabin.
For this recital, she commissioned the pioneering violinist/composer Mari Kimura to write for piano, electronics, and motion sensor. The new work utilizes Mugic® —a motion sensor system developed by Kimura, which translates the pianist’s wrist and arm motions into sound. Kimura’s work was inspired by the music of Alexander Scriabin, whose music is also included in this program. New York composer Joseph Di Ponio was inspired by Debussy’s Images to write a new work for piano and electronics. The premiere of this work will be presented alongside Debussy’s Images II.
Program
Scriabin: Quasi Valse, Op. 47
Scriabin: Poème, Op. 32 No. 1
Scriabin: Étrangeté, Op. 63 No. 2
Kimura: Pensamiento for Piano and Mugic® (world premiere)
Debussy: Images II
Di Ponio: Dust Veils for Piano and Fixed media (world premiere)
Ravel: Miroirs
About the Artist
Praised for her “thrilling, inspirational performance” (Florida Sun-Sentinel) and “elegance of line, leaping energy” (San Jose Mercury News), pianist Yukiko Sekino is noted for her performances of Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Scriabin and performs some of the most challenging twentieth and twenty-first century works. The Gold Medalist of the 2006 International Russian Music Piano Competition and a winner of the S&R Foundation’s Washington Award, she is a recipient of the Jackson Prize at Tanglewood Music Center and the JAA Music Award in New York. She debuted with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age sixteen, and has since performed with various orchestras and in recitals in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Philadelphia, as well as in Europe, China, and Japan. During the 2011-13 seasons, she was a Mu Phi Epsilon Concert Artist, touring in the United States. An avid chamber musician and new music performer, Sekino has been invited to Tanglewood Music Center, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, and Thy Masterclass Chamber Music Festival. In addition to teaching piano at MIT during the academic year, she frequently gives masterclasses and has been a guest artist and faculty at Northeast Asia International Piano Festival, East Carolina Piano Festival, and Atlantic Music Festival. She is a graduate of Harvard University and The Juilliard School, and holds a doctoral degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook.
----------
Health Policy and Building Access
As of March 14th, 2022, masks are optional. Event attendees are encouraged to be mindful of others’ risk tolerance and respectful of their personal choices. All event attendees are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated and boosted. Tim Tickets are no longer required. For Killian Hall recitals, please use the Building 14 entrance either by the Lewis Music Library or at 160 Memorial Drive. Visitors may also be escorted on campus by anyone with an active MIT ID.
