Yojo Christen
YOJO CHRISTEN
(born May 18, 1996)
Even as a child, Yojo impressed people by his extraordinary musicality. Since age five, he has had regular piano lessons with Franz Hummel, who also teaches composition to Yojo. As early as at age eight, Yojo started doing full-length piano recitals on his own.
The 18-year old pianist plays concerts all over Germany and has even performed in radio programs and on TV. In 2010, Yojo was invited by the German-Japanese Society to do a tour through Japan where he played seven concerts. After the initial recital in Kobe, a busload of fans followed him on the remaining tour which turned out to be a stunning success for the then 14-year old.
Besides classical and romantic piano works, Yojo’s repertoire also comprises a large number of original pieces, including a virtuosic “Train Etude” as well as a series of preludes. His greatest success to date has been his First Piano Sonata titled “Die Zwitschermaschine” (Twittering Machine). To commemorate the victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, he composed a “requiem” that premiered in September 2011 at a charity concert in Füssen. The proceeds from the event were donated to the city of Fukushima. Currently Yojo is working on his first opera.
Together with Franz Hummel, the versatile young artist has released a beginner’s piano tutor book called “Mein wildes Klavierbuch” (The Wild Piano Book). Yojo composed the performance pieces and exercises that reflect his own musical education and the way he learned to play the piano.
The first two CDs that Yojo recorded for TYXart at age 15 and 17, respectively, have been met with great attention on a national level. His recent, third CD titled “Atavistic Music“ was recorded by Yojo together with the cello professor Alexander Suleiman. On the CD, the two musicians improvise on 13 subjects, creating the music from scratch and taking the titles as a source for inspiration.
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Preparation for next contest