Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka (born 4 December 1976) is a German-Japanese

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

, and former

Olympic weightlifter Weightlifting (often known as Olympic weightlifting) is a competitive strength sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with the aim of successfully lifting the heaviest weights ...

and

powerlifter Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight singl ...

Music

Born in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, Germany, Douglass-Ishizaka (known as Ishizaka) started playing the piano at age four, was a member of the Ishizaka Trio for 16 years with her brothers and graduated from

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right t ...

. As a solo pianist, she has performed concerts throughout Europe, North America and Japan, as well as appearing with the

Beethoven Orchester Bonn The Beethoven Orchester Bonn is a German symphony orchestra based in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. It dates back to 1907, when a professional orchestra was established. Named for Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn, the orchestra's princ ...

, the

Klassische Philharmonie Bonn Klassische Philharmonie Bonn (Classical philharmonic Bonn) is a German touring symphony orchestra, based in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded by Heribert Beissel in 1986, derived from the Chur Cölnisches Orchester that he had founded ...

and the

Jackson Symphony Orchestra (Michigan) The Jackson Symphony Orchestra (JSO) is an American orchestra based in Jackson, Michigan. The orchestra's main performing venues are the Potter Center of Jackson College and Weatherwax Hall. The orchestra's season typically consists of five orche ...

.Biography
", Kimiko Ishizaka web page. Retrieved 14 December 2011. Kimiko Ishizaka performing at the O

In 1998 Ishizaka won the

Deutscher Musikwettbewerb The Deutscher Musikwettbewerb (German music competition; ) is a national music competition in Germany for classical soloists and chamber music ensembles held annually by the Deutscher Musikrat (German Music Council). It was first held in 1975 and ...

(German Music Competition), along with her brothers Kiyondo Ishizaka and

Danjulo Ishizaka Danjulo Ishizaka (born 14 May 1979) is a German cellist and professor at the Berlin University of Arts and City of Basel Music Academy Life Ishizaka, born in Bonn, Germany, is the son of the German piano teacher Ruth Nathrath and Japanese imm ...

. Ishizaka is part of the Open Goldberg Variations, a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

-funded, and

Bösendorfer Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian piano manufacturer and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. Bösendorfer is unusual in that it produces Imperial Bösendorfer, 97- and 92-Key (instrument) ...

-sponsored team that recorded

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

's ''

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'' (), BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of thirty variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may ...

'' and released the score and recordings into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

in May 2012. In November 2013 Ishizaka and Open Goldberg Project completed anothe
Kickstarter project
to fund the recording Book I of Bach's

Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time ''clavier'' referred to a variety of keyboard instruments, ...

. The new recording wa
released into the public domain in March 2015
In ''

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

'',

Donald Rosenberg Donald Rosenberg (born 1952) is an American musician, music critic and journalist. Biography Rosenberg was born in New York City and educated at the Mannes College of Music and the Yale School of Music. He is a French horn, horn player, who par ...

wrote, "She scales her Bach to the rhythmic, structural and sonic needs of the music, without touching the sustaining pedal." James Oestreich, reviewing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', reported that Ishizaka is a "gifted and obviously devoted Bachian" and that she "performed the 24 preludes and fugues of Book 1 from memory and without major flaw". In April 2015, Ishizaka began another Kickstarter-funded project to record Chopin's 24 préludes on an 1842 Pleyel piano. The recordings were released under a Creative Commons license. Ishizaka made her debut as a composer on March 19, 2016, with her performance of Bach's '' The Art of the Fugue'' featuring her own completion of the final fugue. In 2017, she then recorded a version, including her completion, and released it under a

Creative Commons license A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work". A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and bu ...

, available for download in audiophile quality from her website. On October 1, 2019, Ishizaka released her album ''New Me!'' on her website on the platform Bandcamp.

Weightlifting

Ishizaka explained in an interview that she began weightlifting after a convicted

bank robber Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank ...

encouraged her to work out with free weights instead of relying on

exercise machine An exercise machine is any machine used for physical exercise. These range from simple spring-like devices to computerized electromechanical devices to recirculating-stream swimming pools. Most exercise machines incorporate an ergometer. An ergome ...

s and similar devices:

He had learned in prison that real physical power comes from whole-body exercises such as the squat and deadlift. When I showed alacrity and some talent for the pursuit, he introduced me to a retired Persian weightlifting champion who managed to instill a sense of the purity and respect for the sport. I eventually moved to Cologne from Bonn to be near the weightlifting club, carefully choosing an apartment within walking distance so that I could train four days a week."

Her weight training led to a change in her pianistic technique:

In my early 20s, I had very thin arms—I couldn't get a beautiful sound out of the piano and I got very tired playing, say, two Chopin études in a row. As I got stronger, I found a way of using my shoulders, arms, and back to produce the sound. These days I only use my fingers for support.""Gramophone talks to Kimiko Ishhizaka"

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...
, June 2015.

She trains with 265lb of weights after practicing piano to maintain her piano performance level.

Powerlifting

Ishizaka placed 3rd in the weight category < 82 kg in the 2005 German championships in

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

and in 2006 placed 2nd in the disciplines of bench press, squat and deadlift.Conny Högg.
Beigeistert am Piano und überzeugt an der Hantel: Kimiko Douglass
", ''Netzathleten Magazin'', 08.12.2008. Retrieved 26 June 2011.

Olympic weightlifting

Ishizaka won three medals at the 2008 German championships in

Olympic weightlifting Weightlifting (often known as Olympic weightlifting) is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with the aim of successfully lifting t ...

.Nelie Satie. "Nach dem Scherenschnitt ein perfekter Auftri

https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertdouglass/3304093360/sizes/l/in/photostream/]. Gewichtheben DM Rodewisch. Retrieved 26 June 2011. In the spring of 2008 she placed 5th in the ELEIKO Women's Grand Prix in

Niederöblarn Niederöblarn is a former municipality in the district of Liezen in Styria, Austria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform The Styria municipal structural reform (German: ''Steiermärkische Gemeindestrukturreform'') was a local gov ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, in the 63 kg class. Kimiko Ishizaka performing the Clean and Jerk

References

External links

Official web page

Open Goldberg VariationsOpen Well-Tempered Clavier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglass-Ishizaka, Kimiko 1976 births Living people German classical pianists Women classical pianists German female weightlifters German people of Japanese descent Sportspeople from Bonn 21st-century classical pianists