Yuhki Kuramoto

Yuhki Kuramoto is a Japanese pianist and composer. He writes primarily for the piano, though orchestral arrangements for some of his pieces exist. Kuramoto was born on September 10, 1951 in the city of Urawa-ku, Saitama, Japan. Kuramoto studied the piano from an early age and exhibited a great degree of talent. During school, he studied Rachmaninoff extensiviely and performed as a part-time soloist in orchestras. He demonstrated great potential as a classical pianist. His experience is unique in that he later went on to study at the Tokyo Industrial Univeristy and obtained a masters degree in Applied Physics. Afterwards, between the path of a scholar and that of a musician, Kuramoto chose the latter.

Kuramoto concentrated on the performance of the piano, the composition and arrangement of classical music and popular music. As a professional musician, his interests are quite expansive, crossing genres from classical to folk songs and popular music. Kuramoto never attended a music conservatory and attained his knowledge mostly through self-studies. Some argue that compared with other musicians, Kuramoto is equally talented and additionally, because of this self studies, his music was more intuitive and sensitive. At the age of 35, Kuramoto had the first of his CD published, which became an instant hit in Japan. To this day, he has published 18 CDs.

Kuramoto's style of music shows influence from a variety of composers from different periods. Most notably, by Rachmaninoff, Chopin and Ravel. The technical difficulties of his pieces tend to lie on the more forgiving side. Some of his pieces are deceptively simple to play. However, Kuramoto's music often can be demanding for its intricate expressiveness required of the pianist. Kuramoto has a gift in writing lyrical melodies that enthrall his audiences. The melodies are sometimes reflective and transquil in nature. At other times, seemingly lamenting for a loss of the past. They can also be sunny, warm and bright. The broken chord style is sometimes used to accompany the melodies. The subject of his music ranges from natural events, nature to a state of mind and human emotions. Kuramoto occasionally uses his pieces as a tool for impressionist paintings.

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