Mission, Vision & Values
Passing on the joy of music to the next generation though one-handed piano performances.
Vision
Demonstration and promotion of piano performances which will be the foundation for prospective pianists to develop their own performances in the future.
Value
The excavation and revival of a forgotten field of music. The deep expression original to one-handed piano performance will offer many people a new kind of joy in musical performance. By creating an environment to disseminate and promote this genre of music, more people will be able to savor this music and to access instrumental performance without barriers and walls.
Projects : LHPM, OHPL
‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music’ was founded in 2010, mainly led by Takeo Tchinai, a left hand pianist, who still continues his one-handed piano performances using only his left hand.
The purpose of the project is to rediscover and revive the valuable pieces of left hand piano music lost to oblivion and to make this genre of music better known to the general public.
The following are the two main activities:
1) Production of audio-visual recordings of historical masterpieces buried in obscurity.
2) Production of new or arranged music scores for intermediate and advanced learners of piano, including commissioned pieces.
For 1) — Forgotten pieces of left hand piano music are excavated and recorded by Takeo Tchinai and other left hand pianists to be packaged in a way that is accessible and available to general users. Through video recordings of performances using a camera set on the keyboard of the piano, one can learn performance skills such as how to use the fingers and body during a one-handed piano performance.
For 2) — We aim to create an environment that will enable more players to experience the challenge of one-handed piano performance by setting up various levels of step-up practice in the field of left hand piano music, which was originally written for advanced or professional performers. We will make requests to composers of various career backgrounds to compose new pieces or to arrange music for the left hand in order to facilitate the revival of this genre as an ongoing contemporary form of art, and to enable easy networking among composers and performers.
While continuing steady collaborative activities among project members, we are also committed to holding events as a contact point for the general supporters of our projects and activities.
The ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music’ presently sponsors two kinds of events: the ‘Left Hand Archive Concert’ and the ‘One Hand Piano Festa!’.
The ‘Left Hand Archive Concert’ is an event that allows people to savor the richness of left hand piano performance through live performances by the leading left hand pianists in the world. Messages from the ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music’ and an activity report will be delivered at this event, which will also function as a meeting place for the general supporters of our activities.
The ‘One Hand Piano Festa!’ was inaugurated in 2013. It is a workshop which consists of open lessons, performances, and lectures. This workshop provides a place of communicative exchange among not only left hand performers but also one-handed piano players in general, giving them an occasion to perform in public.
As well as disseminating this remarkable field of music to the world, we aim to show pianists with handicaps in their right hand — who are estimated to be numerous — a way to continue their careers. The ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music’, which was founded on the hopes of Takeo Tchinai, will unfold its activities for a wider range of people by continuing to hand the baton to the next generation in future.
Piano Lessons for One Hand started in 2014, based on the experience and knowledge of one-handed performances which the ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music’ has nurtured and acquired.
The primary purpose of Piano Lessons for One Hand is to promote one-handed piano performances and make them more accessible to people. The following are the two main activities:
1) Music instruction in one-handed piano performance for learners including infants and seniors.
2) Producing music scores and teaching resources mainly for introductory learners and beginners, including new scores of music composed or arranged on request.
For 1) — In order to supplement the present lack of special institutions offering music instruction to introductory learners of left hand piano performance (including infants and seniors) we provide an occasion for them to learn about music though practicing piano performances for one hand.
For 2) — We aim to produce more specialized teaching resources through developing research by joining the music scoring project for introductory learners and beginners, which was originally a part of the ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music,’ to the Piano Lessons for One Hand project. This will make it feasible to offer music instruction to those who have been assumed to have difficulty in learning piano because of dyskinesia (motor disturbance) in one hand, as in the case of such disabilities as hemiplegia.
Objectives for 2015
●Piano Lessons for One Hand:
We aim to create an environment that will enable many people to enjoy playing the piano with one hand.
Music Scoring Project:
Creating good-quality teaching resources for beginners in cooperation with composers.
Recording Project:
Producing recordings of tunes that explain how to play.
Events:
Holding a workshop, the ‘One Hand Piano Festa!’ in Tokyo and in Osaka. The workshop in Tokyo is open to all amateur pianists. The workshop in Osaka is mainly an occasion for communicative exchange among people having piano lessons for one hand.
Music School:
Producing teaching resources for different levels of learning and developing methods for improving the skills of learners step by step so that they can objectively understand their level of one-handed performance.
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●Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music:
We aim to promote rediscovery and revival of the valuable music genre of piano playing with the left hand alone.
Recording Projects:
Producing audio-visual recordings and CDs of historical masterpieces and contemporary pieces of left hand piano music.
Music Scoring Projects:
Continually creating music scores of contemporary pieces and distributing them overseas as well as in Japan.
Events and Concert activities:
Holding ‘Left Hand Archive Concerts’ in concert halls in the Kanto and Kansai areas. We aim to introduce left hand piano music pieces through performances by excellent pianists from overseas and Japan in order to promote the artistic value of this genre of music.
Biography
Born in 1976.
At the age of 7, started to study at the Music Preparatory School attached to Tokyo College of Music. Graduated from Tokyo College of Music High School majoring in Piano Performance Course and Tokyo College of Music majoring in Piano Performance Course. While a student at college, studied in Milano. As a student, studied under the guidance of Izuru Kobayashi, Sonoko Maejima, Anita Porrini and Ada Mauri.
1999 Went to Germany in November.
2000 Admitted to the University of Hannover in Germany. Studied under Professor Einar Steen-Nøkleberg.
2000 Won a prize at the Internatioanl Edward Grieg Piano Competition. Awarded the third prize at the Marsala International Competition.
2001 Symptoms of focal dystonia appeared in right hand. Absent from the university, received a series of treatments under Univ. Prof. M.D. Eckart Altenmüller at the medical institute attached to the university, followed by rehabilitation in Berlin under Laurent Boullet.
2002-2009 Germany-Osaka
2002 Recommended by Professor E. S. Nøkleberg, encountered a new world of music for left hand alone such as ‘Prelude and Nocturne’ by Scriabin and ‘Chaconne’ by Bach-Brahms.
2003 Renewed music activities as a left hand pianist. Started to engage himself in devotional study to achieve high-quality performance using only the left hand.
2004 Held the first solo concert for left hand piano performance in Germany.
2005 At the graduation examination of the university, his left hand performance of chamber music won the highest distinction by unanimous consent of the judges.
2006 Performed Ravel’s ‘Piano Concerto for the Left Hand’ with the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra in March, highly praised by the audience, the conductor and the orchestra members.
2006 With the solo concert held in Fukuoka in November, started solo activities in Japan.
2007 KTV (Kansai TV) documentary, ‘Sound of Life Touching Our Hearts: Left Hand Pianist, Takeo Tchinai’, was broadcast in July.
2008 Advocated Classical music activities rooted in the local community and actively engaged in salon concert activities including recitation concerts, mainly in Hyogo and Osaka.
2009 Along with concert activities, set to work on the original design of the present ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music’, which is comprised of the production of performance resources (such as recordings) of left hand piano music, the making of sheet music and the analytical study of performing techniques or styles of rendition for left hand piano music.
2010- ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music’
2010 Founded a private organization called the ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Piano Music’ with the purpose of the rediscovery and dissemination of left hand piano music. Opened the video recording archive to the public on the website (www.lefthandpianomusic.org).
2011 The premiere performance in Japan of F. Schmitt’s Piano Quintet at Hyogo Performing Arts Center in April. The first two CDs, produced by the project, were released.
2011 Launched the Japanese site of the ‘Archive Project for Left Hand Music’ in September (http://lefhandpianomusic.jp).
2012 Four music scores for introductory learners and beginners were compiled by the Archive Project. The ‘Left Hand Archive Concert’ was held at Takarazuka Vega Hall.
2013 Held the world’s first workshop for one-handed piano performance — called ‘One Hand Piano Festa!’ — in Tokyo.
2013 Held ‘Left Hand Archive Concert’ in October with a guest pianist from France. Maxime Zecchini, a two-handed pianist who is actively engaged in playing piano music for the left hand alone. This concert successfully demonstrated the high quality of left hand piano music.
2013 Featured in NHK documentary (ETV Special) ‘Left Hand Pianist: Another Piano Lesson’.
2014 Launched ‘Piano Lessons for One Hand’ to promote one-handed performance by giving music instruction to piano players including introductory learners and beginners.