マリンバ奏者　野口道子オフィシャル　ウェブサイト Michiko Noguchi Official Website

With the death of Masao Yoshikawa last April, I feel that an irreplaceable light has gone out for the marimba. Given the current trends of major changes in the environment surrounding the marimba, it is unlikely that a player like Masao Yoshikawa will ever appear again.

Masao Yoshikawa has been a studio musician for 60 years, and as a piano major, he can easily play any difficult piece, but he never plays a piece that he judges “not to be enjoyed by the general audience” in his own concerts.
While many have taken a turn in innovative directions, Masao Yoshikawa’s attitude as a performer has always been “audience-oriented.” At the root of this attitude was the “purity” he felt as a boy when he was “moved” by the performance of his great predecessor, Yoichi Hiraoka, and the moment he continued to cherish that moment.（→For more details, see the two essay pages written by Mr. Yoshikawa.）

I have played with Mr. Yoshikawa for a total of 30 years, starting from my time with Tokyo Marimba. I first met him when I had just graduated from graduate school, and, through the introduction of percussionist Professor Yoshitaka Kobayashi, I recorded a marimba trio with Mr. Yoshikawa and Mr. Urabe for a 30-minute NHK FM program. Six months later, the idea of forming the “Tokyo Marimba Trio” came up, and we held recitals with programs of classical, jazz, and commissioned original works. After that, we held recitals in Tokyo every few years, and continued to perform in various places for 20 years, including a concert tour in the United States in 2003. My duo with Mr. Yoshikawa was in Tokyo for eight years from 1999 to 2006, during which time we held four recitals in Tokyo.

Mr. Yoshikawa had already completed his own music at the time of the rehearsal, and my role was to direct it as well as possible. He came to the practice room on his motorcycle, played a few times lightly, and then said, “Now, let’s do it for real.” There was almost no detailed rehearsal, and it was a studio musician-style duo.。
All of the audio posted here are recordings of rehearsals before the actual performance, which I recorded after my rehearsal with Mr. Yoshikawa so that I could make some adjustments myself.

Yoshikawa’s playing is characterized by his “incredible technique,” “a dynamic and authentic beat,” “overwhelming sensitivity,” and “the beauty of his deeply sung tremolo melodies.”
The depth of the wooden tone emanates from a playing style in which the instrument and the body are one. There is a deep taste and affection for the marimba that is uniquely Japanese, setting him apart from Western players. If you listen, you will be able to understand the “view of the marimba” that Yoshikawa, who loved the marimba so much, painted. I hope that many people will get to know the “Yoshikawa Marimba.”

Masao Yoshikawa Solo Recordings (20s-80s）ページもどうぞ、ご覧下さい。

Ragtime Medley Maple Leaf Rag　4songs

Hikaru Hayashi / Contrasts

Liszt / Campanella

🎵スペイン組曲「カディス」/ アルベニス
＊楽譜無料公開 Free Download Page

🎵 Bach / アリオーソ
＊楽譜無料公開 Free Download Page

🎵 Marimba Duo [おもちゃの兵隊の観兵式
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers/ Jessel
編曲：平岡養一/吉川雅夫

🎵 Marimba Duo [Mozart / Rondo Alla Turca
(Turkish March) トルコマーチ
楽譜：Marimba Duo Vol.1

🎵 『The Golden Age of the Xylophone』Arrangement :Floyd Werle and Randall Eyles

🎵 [ ヨハン・シュトラウス/トリッチ・トラッチ・ポルカ] 編曲：吉川雅夫

🎵 Marimba Duo [ Tico Tico / Zequinha de Abreu]
Arr.Masao Yoshikawa
Sheet music download site ♪Marimba Duo

🎵 Marimba Duo [ Maple Leaf Rag / Scott Joplin]Arr：Masao Yoshikawa
Sheet music download site ♪Marimba Duo、♪Solo+ Piano

🎵 Marimba Solo and Piano バージョン

Marimba Duo 練習の録音集　Practice recordings

🎵 Marimba Duo Piazzolla /Libertango] Arr.: Michiko Noguchi

🎵 Marimba Duo [ Piazzolla /Oblivion]

Arr.: Michiko Noguchi

🎵 Marimba Duo [Mallet ala Zarka / Harry Breuer ]M2 part Arr.: Michiko Noguchi
Masao Yoshikawa ,Michiko Noguchi
＊Sheet Music「Harry Breuer’s Ragtime Solos」

🎵 Marimba Duo [Brazileira from “Scaramouche”Milhaud]
Arr：Masao Yoshikawa

🎵 Marimba Duo[When The Saints Go Marching In 聖者の行進] Srr.Norio Maeda
＊This is for three marimbas and piano, but this recording is missing M2.

🎵 Marimba Duo [African Blues/Wolfgang Roggenkamp]
Masao Yoshikawa ,Michiko Noguchi

🎵 Marimba Duo [Temptation Revamp Ragtime / Harry Breuer ]M2 part Arr.: Michiko Noguchi
Masao Yoshikawa ,Michiko Noguchi
＊Score「Harry Breuer’s Ragtime Solos」

🎵 Marimba Duo [Recuerdos De La Alhambra/ Francisco Tárrega ]
＊ The sheet music is Included in”Marimba Duo Vol.1″

🎵 [Ghanaia / Schmitt ]
Masao Yoshikawa ,Michiko Noguchi Arr.Michiko Nogucho

🎵 Marimba Trio [Hawaiian Wedding Song ] Arr.Norio Maeda
Mar.;Tokyo Marimba Trio

🎵 🎄🎅🏻 Marimba Duo [Christmas Medley（Arr.Masao Yoshikawa
＊Sheet music available for free

🎵 Marimba Duo [Otemoyan] (Some piano sounds are missing due to page turning.）Arrangement: Kazunori Maruyama
Masao Yoshikawa ,Michiko Noguchi

🎵 Marimba Duo [ YankeeLand ]
Arr.Masao Yoshikawa
＊楽譜「Raggedy Ragtime Rags」

🎵 Marimba Duo [Sakura(さくら) ] Arr: Seiji Yokoyama
Mar .: Masao Yoshikawa ,Michiko Noguchi
＊The score is included in Marimba Duo Vol.1

🎵 Marimba Duo [ Cielito lindo/Mexican folk song] Arr.Masao Yoshik
＊Available for free on the sheet music free download page

🎵 Marimba Duo [Tango suite 2mov. /Astor Piazzolla

🎵 Marimba Duo [Hikaru Hayashi(林光) / Contrasts]
Masao Yoshikawa ,Michiko Noguchi
＊If you would like sheet music, please contact us via the information page.