Music Adjunct Professor Releases Classical Album in Japan

Mieko Hironaka Bergt, adjunct professor of Piano in the Department of Music, is releasing a CD later this month that she recorded last year with Takashi Aoki, a violinist colleague in Japan. The album, "Poésie," features music from Suk, Massenet, Chausson, Brahms, Strauss and Dvořák.

Aoki is the former concertmaster of the Tokyo Philharmonic and currently serves as associate professor of Violin at Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo. Aoki and Bergt studied and played together at Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, before Bergt went to study abroad in Paris while Aoki continued studying at Toho.

"By a strange miracle, our paths crossed again after 30 years of no contact," said Bergt. "When we finally had the opportunity to play together, it was just like when we performed in high school." 

"Although we have had different musical backgrounds and experiences, our interpretive process combined with the beauty and power of music has unified us in our performances. As we performed, our desire to keep a record of our collaboration grew, and that is how this CD came to be. All of the pieces we have chosen for this CD are heavily influenced by art songs and poems. We invite you to come along this journey with us to enjoy the beauty of communicating music without words—something we experienced while recording this CD."

The CD will be on sale Feb. 25 in Japan. Anyone interested in purchasing a CD may email Bergt at bergtmieko@gmail.com.