At the heart of this dramatic concert programme is a new song cycle, written especially for Akiko by British composer Francesca Le Lohé. A Japanese stringed instrument, the biwa is traditionally used to accompany narrative songs chronicling the achievements of warriors in battle. Francesca's new work celebrates the brief life of writer and  feminist anarchist Itō Noe (1895-1923), killed by Japanese state forces when she was just 28. It is sung in Japanese with English surtitles.

Akiko has performed extensively across Asia, South America and Europe including with the Vienna Philharmonic and Brussels Philharmonic. This is her first visit to the UK. Francesca has worked in Japan since 2015, and  in 2019, her opera ‘The Key’ won the prestigious Keizo Saji Prize. She is an LSO Soundhub Associate 2022-2024. 

“An outstanding British talent… This is the timeless way creation should happen.”  The Asahi Newspaper on Francesca Le Lohé.

Alongside this new work, sits beautiful music for violin and piano by three of Noe’s contemporaries  who broke new ground  writing in the Western Classical tradition: Kōda Nobu (1870-1946), Toyama Michiko (1913-2006) and Yoshida Takako (1910-1956).  Click here to read more about them and their music.