is a Japanese '' koto'' player noted for her performance of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

and

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of ...

Early life

Sawai was born in Kyoto in 1941, and began studying koto, at the age of eight, with

Michio Miyagi was a Japanese musician, famous for his '' koto'' playing. He was born in Kobe. He lost his sight in 1902, when he was 8 years old, and started his study in koto under the guidance of Nakajima Kengyo II, dedicating the rest of his life to the ...

. She later graduated from the

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music or is a school of art and music in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter ...

Musical career

Sawai plays both the 13-string and 17-string kotos. As a soloist, as well as with her koto ensemble, she has performed and worked with

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

Toshi Ichiyanagi was a Japanese avant-garde composer and pianist. One of the leading composers in Japan during the postwar era, Ichiyanagi worked in a range of genres, composing Western-style operas and orchestral and chamber works, as well as compositions usi ...

, Yuji Takahashi, Ayuo,

Roberto Carnevale Roberto Carnevale (born 15 June 1966) is an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic teacher. Biography and career Born in Catania, he started studying piano at the age of seven. He took a degree in Arts at the University of Catania ...

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Modernism (music), modernist Holy minimalism, sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous Chamber music, chamber, Orchestra, orch ...

David Behrman David Behrman (born August 16, 1937) is an American composer and a pioneer of computer music. In the early 1960s he was the producer of Columbia Records' ''Music of Our Time'' series, which included the first recording of Terry Riley's ''In C''.< ...

Carl Stone Carl Stone (born Carl Joseph Stone, February 10, 1953) is an American composer, primarily working in the field of live electronic music. His works have been performed in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the ...

, and many other composers. She has performed in Japan, North America, and Europe.

Teaching career

Sawai operates a school in Japan, where she teaches both Japanese and foreign students. Her students include

Michiyo Yagi , a Japanese musician who studied koto under Tadao Sawai, Kazue Sawai and Satomi Kurauchi, and graduated from the NHK Professional Training School for Traditional Musicians. Between 1989 and 1990, during her tenure as visiting professor of mus ...

, Elizabeth Falconer, Shoko Hikage, and

Mei Han Mei Han () is a Chinese-Canadian ''guzheng'' performer and scholar. She was born into a military family in Beijing, the youngest of four children. Her father Han Shu came from Shanxi, and her mother, who is half Miao, came from Hunan. Her mater ...

Family

She was married to the late

Tadao Sawai was a Japanese '' koto'' player and composer. He was renowned all over Japan for his skill at the koto and also received acclaim for his compositions. Early life Born in Aichi Prefecture, Sawai graduated from the Tokyo National University of F ...

, who was also a ''koto'' player and composer. The couple had a son

Hikaru Sawai is a Japanese '' koto'' player and composer. He is the son of the Kazue Sawai and late Tadao Sawai was a Japanese '' koto'' player and composer. He was renowned all over Japan for his skill at the koto and also received acclaim for his composit ...

(b. 1964), who is also a ''koto'' player and composer.

References

External links

Kazue Sawai official site

1941 births Contemporary classical music performers Japanese classical musicians Japanese contemporary classical musicians Koto players Living people Musicians from Kyoto Tokyo University of the Arts alumni {{Japan-musician-stub