Ken Aiso is pictured with violist Elizabeth Prior Runnicles (right) and pianist Joan Nagano. (Nagano did not perform that evening, but she and Aiso plan to collaborate in the near future).

Photo by J.K. Yamamoto

The Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco on Sept. 21 hosted a performance of modern Japanese music by violinist Ken Aiso, a native of Japan who now lives and works in the U.K. as a soloist and chamber musician.

The evening began with a welcoming message from newly arrived Consul General Yasumasa Nagamine.

Aiso offered pieces by Michio Miyagi, Kosaku Yamada, Tamezo Narita and Akira Miyoshi. The talk and the performance were done from a comparative perspective, juxtaposing modern Japanese music and pieces by Western composers, such as Enesco, Bach and Mozart. He was joined by violist Elizabeth Prior Runnicles.

Aiso, who gave his presentation in English, also performed a spoken word and solo violin piece, “Ferdinand,” a children’s story about “a bull who liked to smell the flowers.”

For more information on Aiso, visit his website at www.kenaiso.net.

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