The piano is a universe of 88 stars. Each key, regardless of colour, is an integral unit in how music gets made with and by it. Individually, or collectively, the combinations and successions of sounds made and layered are sounded with the artistic intent of the player, guided by improvisational instinct and thought flow, or by the mapping of pre-planned, written and suggested directions of the composer. The hands and their fingers ply their ways across the expanse of the keyboard, exciting the action within the box and the striking of the strings coloured by the tensions and relaxations of the effect of the pedals. The piano player is a conductor at the helm of the machine. An explorer.
One of the instrument’s most engaging explorers is Makoto Ozone. Like a seafaring adventurer, he tells grand tales and navigates the phrases and lines, translating musical thought into musical expression and shared language.
These words from The Classical Source: “An engaging personality at work, at once sensitive to the task at hand and bringing freshness to something familiar.” Ozone at the piano is a sensitive and expressive navigator and narrator — an artistic explorer on an adventure in the piano universe.