Mmba Player Michiko Noguchi Official Site

This page mainly features reel-to-reel tapes of recitals that were entrusted to us by Masao Yoshikawa (1934-2019), who passed away in April 2019, and that were performed in Tokyo and Nagoya in his 20s and 30s. There are five reel-to-reel tapes entrusted to us by Yoshikawa, three of which are recital recordings from when he was 21, 22, and 31 years old. The other two were recordings of Yoichi Hiraoka’s radio broadcasts. Yoshikawa was a big fan of Yoichi Hiraoka, and wrote in his writing that he aspired to be a performer because he was moved by Hiraoka’s performance. Hiraoka played the xylophone and Yoshikawa played the marimba, but their playing style was very similar to Hiraoka’s, and their touch was the same as Hiraoka’s xylophone touch, very deep vertically, resonating well with the pipes, heavy, and had a presence even in each and every tremolo. The fact that a veteran like Yoshikawa, who continued to promote marimba in an honest, pure, audience-oriented way, is no longer with us makes me feel not just lonely, but complex and special. It is not a sentimental feeling like nostalgia, but rather a “fear.” While touting the taste of the times, newness, and innovation, in the end, isn’t today’s percussive marimba, which is inclined towards the West, merely staying in the shell of the percussion instrument community? How many of the general audience would be happy to listen to a percussion marimba that doesn’t sing a melody? A performer is only a performer because of his audience. Yoshikawa always cherished the marimba that his audience wanted to hear. Please listen to his performance. After this, we will also be providing sheet music arranged by Yoshikawa. * Click here for the Yoshikawa Masao & Noguchi Michiko Duo 30 songs audio and sheet music page こちら