Mitsuko Shirai

Mitsuko Shirai is undoubtedly among the world’s great interpreters of German artwork song. Given birth to and elevated in Japan, Shirai analyzed in Stuttgart, where she arrived to connection with fellow college student and pianist Hartmut Höll. Shirai and Höll teamed up like a duo both as performers and, soon thereafter, in relationship. Since 1994, they possess collaborated as the principle instructors inside a “lied center” for tone of voice and piano duos in the Musikhochschule in Karlsruhe, and also have conducted comparable workshops in Finland, Weimar, Salzburg, at Tanglewood, and in Cincinnati, among other areas. Shirai offers sung with Höll in concert locations all over the world, but they are specially popular in Germany and Japan, where Shirai was granted the fantastic Idemitsu Music Honor in 1996. Shirai is among the most frequently documented lieder performers of contemporary times; and though she’s documented for Philips, Camerata, as well as others, almost all her recordings possess appeared around the Capriccio label. She’s covered an array of lieder operating from Louis Spohr to Anton Webern, but she actually is not just limited by recital performing. A contralto, Shirai in addition has found acclaim on her behalf shows of Gustav Mahler’s orchestral tunes. Shirai in addition has made an appearance in operas, most regularly in Mozart, but also in such rarities as Richard Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot.