The Music of Kikuko Kanai (1906-1986)
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal College of Music
Department Name: Research
Abstract
Please see pdf
People |
ORCID iD |
| Maiko Kawabata (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
| Description | The purpose of this award was to research the music of Kikuko Kanai, a Japanese woman composer who, despite her significant contributions to Western Classical music, is not well known. My aim was to raise public awareness of her life and works, as part of a project dedicated to spotlighting ethnically diverse composers, for which I undertook fieldwork at a private archive in Tokyo, Japan, where her manuscripts and papers were kept. My aim was achieved through the following research outputs: 'Notes Unearthed: The Music of Margaret Bonds and Kikuko Kanai' BBC Radio 3 podcast interview with Samantha Ege introduced by Linton Stephens, 25 November 2022 'Rediscovered Composers' BBC Radio 3 live interview with presenter Linton Stephens with the BBC Philharmonic performing the orchestral music of Kikuko Kanai, 4 November 2022 'Diverse Classical Music' BBC Radio 3 Arts & Ideas: New Thinking podcast interview released in November 2021 and broadcast in February 2022 BBC Radio 3 live concert with pianist Claire Hammond performing the piano music of Kikuko Kanai, February 2022 |
| Exploitation Route | I am currently at work on a conference presentation and a scholarly publication, most likely a monograph, pending a follow-up research trip to the Kanai archive in Tokyo, Japan, planned for August 2023 and supported by funding from the the Music & Letters Trust, the Open University, and the Royal College of Music. This funding will help further research into Kanai and support the focus in the academic community on ethnically diverse composers who have been excluded traditionally from the canon. The music of Kanai has reached a wider listenership than ever before thanks to this funding, which has the potential to inspire young listeners, particularly girls of colour, to believe that they too can aspire to inclusion in the canon. |
| Sectors | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0dj8qpp |
| Description | The research findings supported by this funding have led to UK premieres of piano and orchestral works by Kikuko Kanai, broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, in the afternoon of 2 February 2022 (average live reach of 610,000 listeners) and in the prime evening slot on 4 November 2022 (average live reach of 455,000 listeners). For the latter, I was interviewed live on air to introduce Kanai's symphonic poem 'Ryukyu where the Deigo flowers blossom', performed by the BBC Philharmonic. I have recorded podcast interviews about my research into Kanai's music and more broadly about diverse composers and the need to diversify the canon in dialogue with fellow researcher Dr. Samantha Ege and for the Arts & Ideas New Thinking Podcast (average live reach of 116,000 listeners). Through these outputs, the music of Kanai has reached a wider listenership than ever before, thus contributing to raising awareness of the neglected work of ethnically diverse composers. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |