Karin Nakagawa

KARIN NAKAGAWA | 25-string koto, vocals

First mentioned in the 6th century, the koto is a powerful instrument with an elegantly curved resonant body. Each individual string is strung over a small white bridge that can be moved to change the intonation of the notes.

In concert, Karin Nakagawa becomes one with her instrument. From the age of twelve, she studied with the legendary teacher and koto player Keiko Nosaka, among others. The very distinctive, seemingly simple, even austere, yet in its multitude of details immensely rich character of Japanese folk music shines through Nakagawa’s compositions – but also jazz and even funk or blues come to mind when she plays a gripping riff with one hand and lets the other fly over the strings in inspired improvisation. Sounds of nature and non-musical elements are an integral part of her artistic practice too. She refers to the concept of “Ma,” an “emptiness in space that connects rather than separates things,” and views silence as an intrinsic part of the performance: before the music, during pauses, and at the end – as she puts it, an “emotional reverberation.”

Karin Nakagawa grew up in the Japanese prefecture of Ibaraki. In 2024, she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony. In 2026, Karin Nakagawa and her partner, cameraman and artistic dramaturge Manfred Bernard, will spend several weeks in Krems as artists in residence, developing new works and concepts, including the repertoire for this concert.

FROM THE PROGRAMME
Storm in the Darkness
Michi – The Way of The Wind
Jikan wo noseta hune
The Boat Song
Shin Sōma Bushi
and other compositions by Karin Nakagawa

MUSICAL CONCEPT
Manfred Bernard

CONCERT INTRODUCTION
Markus Meyer, reading texts by Kamo no Chōmei and others.