Photo: supplied
Issei Sakano. Born to parents who love music, Issei started piano at the age of three. He had been studying piano, music theory and composition under Japanese teachers for 15 years. After coming to Cambodia in 1992 he had been away from music for years, but resumed musical activities in early 2000. He currently works as an advisor to Cambodian Ministry of Justice and at the same time, makes performance occasionally in Phnom Penh, mainly as a piano accompanist as well as some piano four-hands programmes. Normally known for his participation in the Arts Foundation classical concerts, this Friday he plays jazz – Pepper Jam with Keiko Kitamura and Colin Grafton – at Green Pepper restaurant.
Do you have a pet musical hate?
I don’t hate any particular genre of music, though I’m not too fond of anything too loud that causes me a headache.
A private musical indulgence:
French Impressionism.
The year you first came to Cambodia:
1992 as a UN volunteer working for the elections.
An early music memory:
When I was born my father bought me a vinyl record of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, Titan. I grew up listening to it without knowing the title of the work.
The last thing you had to eat:
Rice with pickles.
A country you want to visit:
Argentina, the homeland of composer Alberto Ginastera.
A book or movie you keep going back to:
The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri.
What languages do you have?
Japanese, Khmer, and English.
Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
Pianoforte, at the age of 3.
Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I used to be a lay missionary in Cambodia and in Russia.
You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?
A concert in Osaka in the early 1980s with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6.
A question from the last participant: do you recommend drinking coconut water?
Absolutely. It’s an ideal source of hydration.
Originally published 2 March 2023