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Fuzjko Hemming: Bio

Fuzjko was born Ingrid Fuzjko Hemming to a Japanese pianist mother and a Swedish father in Berlin. When Fuzjko was a child, she relocated to Tokyo with her family. A few years later, her father left the country. During this time, the family had very few resources and Fuzjko found herself perfecting her piano technique on a broken piano. It wasn't the ideal situation yet Fuzjko fell in love with the instrument. By the age of 10, she was taking lessons from Leonid Kreutzer, a Russian-born pianist and her mother's teacher. Struck by her natural ability, he predicted Fuzjko's international success as a concert pianist. By 16, she was hailed a child prodigy-then tragedy struck: Fuzjko suffered deafness in her right ear from an inflammation. Undeterred by such misfortune, Fuzjko made her concert debut at 17. She was still a high school student, and later won various prizes in major domestic competitions, such as the NHK Mainichi Music Contest and the Bunka Radio Broadcasting Co. Music Prize. She then began her professional career by collaborating with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and other Japanese Orchestras. Samson Franois who had just happened to be visiting Japan heard her play and immediately praised her musicianship and interpretation of Chopin and Liszt .She then furthered her music studies at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and went on to receive a scholarship and graduated from the Berlin Institute of Music. Upon finishing school, Fuzjko moved to Vienna and worked with the likes of Ukrainian piano great Shura Cherkassky, famed Italian-German conductor Bruno Maderna, and legendary conductor and composer
Leonard Bernstein.

Prior to making her recital debut under Bernstein's guidance, Fuzjko lost all hearing in her left ear after battling a cold. For a second time Fuzjko's growing career was stopped short. She went back to Sweden where she sought solace from her aunt and continued her studies. Eventually, Fuzjko obtained her music teaching license. There, she spent the next few years teaching music while seeking medical attention to restore her hearing. She took up other odd jobs to make ends meet including working as a janitor at a psychiatric hospital, and there she found an upright piano. The nurses were amazed when they heard Fuzjko's playing, which touched one of the patients in particular who had never smiled... hearing Fuzjko play brought a smile to his face and touched the hearts of all who looked on. No one could understand why Fuzjko was there and told her she should be a concert pianist... Fuzjko's heart was warmed. After some time, and with great fortune, 40 percent of her hearing was eventually restored in her left ear. Fuzjko started performing in small concert halls again-and shaping her dream of becoming a concert pianist.

In 1999, NHK Television in Japan aired a documentary of Fuzjko's life. The audience immediately fell for Fuzjko's eccentric charm and her unique style of performing, ultimately making her a pop star of sorts. Her first album, La Campanella, went on to sell over two million copies, a very rare accomplishment for any classical artist. She also received the Classical Album of the Year award at the Japan Gold Disc Awards four different times, another extraordinary achievement for a classical artist. No other classical artist has ever received the award four times. Since her debut album release, Fuzjko has performed many solo recitals and has collaborated with Artis-Quartet Vienna, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra (Yuri Simonov, conductor), the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra (Zoltan Kocsis, conductor), the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Tam?s Vsry, conductor), the Super World Orchestra (Stefan Sanderling, conductor '03 / Alastair Willis, conductor '04), The Budapest Concert Orchestra, (Tamis Gal, conductor), Royal Philharmony London, the English Chamber Orchestra, the National Belgian Orchestra (Mikko Franck, conductor), Orquesta Sinfnica RTVE (Adrian Leaper, conductor), the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (Robertas Servenikas, conductor), the Northeast German Philharmonic Orchestra (Mathias Husmann, conductor), the Orchestra of the "Concert's Society of Bari" (Fabio Mastrangelo, conductor), the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cadaques Orchestra, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Niedersterreich Tonkanstler Orchestramm, George Enescu Philharmonic of Bucharest (Christian Mandeal, conductor), Orchestra Symphonic CAMERATA XXI (Tobias Gossmann, conductor), London Ensemble with Vasko Vassilev, Ensemble Berlin, representing members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, all of which have been extraordinarily successful. In 2005, Fuzjko performed at a charity concert at the Budokan in Tokyo in front of an audience of 13,000, which was the maximum capacity; over 10 million yen were donated to UNICEF from this concert. Later that year, Fuzjko had an extremely successful concert with Mischa Maisky (cello) which drew in an audience of 5000 people and Maisky praised her as an "unforgettable pianist". In 2007, Maxim Vengerov (violin) sent his message to Fuzjko, "I am admiring your art, your music and paintings". A violinist Laurent Korcia performed with Fuzjko in Paris and Japan in 2008, and he composed a piece titled "Fuzjko's Waltz", which is recorded in the 2009 release of Korcia's CD "Cinema" (EMI). Fuzjko's international concerts include her June 2001 recital at Carnegie Hall, which had an audience of 3,000 people. She performed in Paris, London, Milan, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Stockholm, Moscow, Budapest, Hamburg, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in 2002 and 2004. In 2005, she was also invited by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra to perform concerts in Moscow, and was also invited by various other orchestras around the world, to perform in such music capitals including: Prague, Vilnius (Lithuania), Sofia, Madrid, Vienna, Nice. International festivals (Pau Casals International Music Festival in Spain, European Music Festival in Bulgaria, etc.) also continued to extend invitations during 2008 for Fuzjko to participate
in their programs.

Fuzjko is also a gifted painter. She took an interest in painting and drawing at the same time she was learning to play piano; both her father and her mother's sister were painters. While on location in Europe, Fuzjko can usually be found painting in between tour stops. She made her art debut in Ginza, Japan in the early 2000's. The Embassy of Sweden also showcased her portraits in May 2003. More recently, Fuzjko's 20-piece copperplate exhibition was on display in Paris throughout February and March 2009. Her delicate water-color display marks the cover of this album, "Fuzjko". Although Fuzjko's performance schedule leaves her with very little free time, she never forgets about her humanitarian obligations. Examples of her compassionate nature can be seen in such actions as donating to the victims of 9/11, Afghan refugees, and to UNICEF. Moreover, her humanitarian passion can be found in the fact that she continues to support and fight for animal rights. Fuzjko makes contributions to UNICEF and animal right groups around the world every year. Fuzjko has just been signed by Domo Records for her worldwide album release. In June 2009, Domo Records has released five titles from Fuzjko's catalogue in the U.S.A. including Echoes Of Eternity; La Campanella; Nocturnes Of Melancholy; Live At Carnegie Hall; and Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1. All of these recordings have sold a remarkable number of copies. Four of her CDs have received the Classical Album of the Year award at the Japan Gold Disc Awards, a feat never before accomplished. With her strikingly unorthodox playing style and such intricate ethnic roots, Fuzjko's true home is at the piano. She is a genuine artist of the world. In January 2009, Fuzjko performed a sold-out concert at Wigmore Hall in London, which added to an impressive list of sold-out concerts across Europe and Japan.

Track Listing

1 Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 17 In Dm  
2 Chopin, Nocturne No. 1  
3 Liszt, La Campanella/Grandes Etudes De Paganini #3  
4 Liszt, Fruhlingsnacht Schumann Trans, S. 568  
5 Liszt, Grandes Etudes De Paganini, No. 6  
6 Chopin, Etude No. 1, Aeolian Harp  
7 Chopin, Waltz No. 1, Grandes Valse Brilliante  
8 Liszt, Liebestraum, 3 Nocturnes For Piano, No. 3  
9 Scarlatti, Sonata In E Maj K 380, Andante Comodo  
10 Chopin, Trois Nouvelles Etudes, No. 1 In F-Min  
11 Chopin, Nocturne In E-Flat Maj, Op. 9, No. 2  
12 Debussy: Clair De Lune, From Suite Bergamasque #3  

Fuzjko Hemming: Audio

Debussy: Clair De Lune

Crossover Media Projects with: Fuzjko Hemming