Ryogoku Art Festival (RAF) is a new music festival set in the Shitamachi area of Ryogoku. The festival this year, marking the 4^th edition, will welcome pianist and composer Rikuya Terashima as the artistic director. Concerts for two pianos – centered around the theme of “peace / life” – will be held over 3 days in an intimate space of Ryogoku Monten Hall, seating about 50 people in the audience.

The first day of the festival (August 11^th) will feature works by Japanese composers, starting from an unpublished and rarely performed piece for two pianos and eights hands by Hikaru Hayashi, who continued to compose music while always staying present to the calls for peace.

The second day (August 12^th) will present masterpieces for orchestra by European composers from the end of the 19^th century to the beginning of the 20^th century, arranged by the performers themselves and Hikaru Hayashi, who is also featured on the first day’s program.

The third day (August 15^th) of the festival is the “Day to Commemorate the War Dead and Pray for Peace” as the anniversary of the end of the World War II in Japan. The program will introduce various forms of expression not limited to the piano. The pianists will perform percussion and the melodica and even recite poems in some pieces, in addition to playing the piano. By engaging with each other and exchanging their personalities, the five pianists will create a superb ensemble together.

All the works featured in the festival were written between 1899 and this year. The world of the 20^th century suffered from many wars; the world in this century also suffers from numerous disasters. Keeping these times in mind, the concerts will be interluded with talks on the relationships between world situations and music. August is a special month to pray for peace. Why don’t you join us in reflecting about peace and life with music as the catalyst?