Selected by Japan’s major newspaper, Mainichi Shinbun, as “One of the 100 People in Tokyo to Represent the 21st Century,” pianist Chiharu Sai performs widely as a soloist and chamber musician, both in Asia and the United States.
Chiharu Sai’s performances have met wide acclaim for their “great verve and refreshing power” (Chopin Magazine). The New York Concert Review described her debut performance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as “dazzling, high-spirited…..(having) great brilliance. Ms. Sai played both the D major and E-flat major Prelude by Rachmaninoff exquisitely.” Since then, she has given concerts through major venues both in Japan and the United States. The renowned critic Harris Goldsmith said of Ms. Sai’s performance of Mozart’s piano concertos held at the same hall, “Ms. Sai proved herself to be a Mozartean of refreshingly unusual potency. She is one of those rarities: an artist who is unafraid to explore the white-hot passion of the Salzburg genius”. Upon hearing Ms. Sai’s solo recital at Opera City Hall in Tokyo, the music critic Yukiko Hagiya wrote, “This critic wishes that she would cross the Pacific Ocean more often to enthrall the classical music fans of Japan.”
Chiharu Sai has worked with a number of orchestras in performances of Mozart Piano Concerto KV488 and 466, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 “Emperor”, Fantasia in C Minor Op.80 for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra (“Choral Fantasy”), and Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 among others. She has been presented in numerous concert series both as a soloist and chamber musician.
Chamber music is Sai’s heart and passion. She enjoys collaborating with other musicians on various projects. Most recently, she performed with Rimsky Korsakov String Quartet from Russia to a great acclaim. She also enjoys performing with Pacific Crest Chamber Players from Pacific Crest Music Festival in Northern California where she serves on the piano and chamber music faculty every summer and works with gifted music students from all over the world. In Southern Oregon and Northern California, she is heard collaborating with members of North State Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony, Shasta Symphony, and San Jose Symphony in concerts including fundraising chamber music events for non-profit organizations. In recent years, Sai has organized and presented fundraising concerts to support Mercy Hospice, W.A.T.E.R., and Mt. Shasta Children’s Choir. Sai believes in the power of music to bring people togegther to do greater good for the community and society at large.
Sai balances her performance schedule with an active involvement in music education and pedagogy. She is currently on the faculty at Rogue Community College and in the past has served on the faculty at Southern Oregon University as well as in the summer program at the Manhattan School of Music . As an adjudicator and clinician, Sai is invited to judge piano competitions for young artists as well as give lecture-recitals and masterclasses for piano teachers’ associations in the Tri-State Area in USA, Northern California, Southern Oregon, Japan, China, and Hong Kong. She is dedicated to the educational support and the musical development of young artists.
Chiharu Sai holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. Her doctoral dissertation entitled “The Proportional Function of the Cadenza in the First Movements of Mozart’s Piano Concertos” was published by Lambert in Germany. Her debut CD of Chopin’s 4 Scherzi and 4 Ballades was released on King Records of Japan. Of this disc, the critic Yoshiko Ikuma noted Chiharu Sai’s “deep identification with their celebrated creator’s genius”.
