1 piano, 4 hands. Watch the piano come alive!
Brothers Moriya and Keito Saito, together as Les Frères, have been shaking it up with their funky beats and boogie rhythms. The Japanese duo debuts in Australia this March on a national tour.
Their free-wheeling, dynamic performances are the unique blend of Moriya’s beautiful ballad melodies fused with Keito’s vibrant boogie rhythms. They describe it as, "the piano itself is singing and dancing." Both graduates of the Luxembourg Conservatoire de Musique de la Ville, the piano duoformed in September 2002. Gary Müller, their music professor at the Conservatorium, comments, “There is a distinctive intensity to their performance and an incomparable logic that leads their music… They are both capable of playing in a reflective, philosophical manner, and then exploding like a musical volcano.” Already superstars in Japan, with their Tokyo concerts selling out in a matter of hours, they have been returning coveted acts at several Tokyo Jazz Festivals. Australia now has a chance to experience the breathtaking brothers’ charisma for one night only.
Interview with LES FRÈRES
–How do you feel about the Australia Tour?
(Moriya;M)
I’m looking forward to the tour.
I will do my best so Australians will hopefully enjoy our music.
I’m really looking forward to our first Australia tour .
(Keito:K)
I would like to make this a stand-out tour unique to Australia.
I’m about to head to Vienna to perform there now, and straight after that I’ll fly to Australia.
–Is there any reason that the tour starts from Melbourne?
(M)
The schedule was decided on very quickly.
I’m happy that we can perform for people in Melbourne at the start of the Australia tour.
(K)
I think the performance in Melbourne would be a very special one since it’s the first one in Australia.
I’m also really looking forward to meeting Melbourne people.
–Can you tell us what we can expect from your performance?
(M)
Our original musical style is (loosely translated as) Cattleman.
In particular it's like Boogie-Woogie piano improvisation.
The music will change depending on the audience reaction, so hand clapping and shouting is encourage… Please join in the fun and enjoy.
(K)
Our cattleman style is the only one of its kind in the world.
I would love everyone to come to our concert and experience this style.
–How did you start playing one piano together?
(M)
As brothers it was natural for us to play a four‐handed performance.
We used to play solo and play a four‐handed performance only during encores, but eventually we started to do four‐hand‐playing more and then we began to search the possibility of the four‐hand‐playing.
(K)
We have been playing as a duet since we were kids, so it was natural to play this way together.
–Can you tell us highlights of what we can expect from your performance?
(M)
We're really hoping to bring the audience into our performance – a show that's going to fill the whole stage
(K)
Please come along and enjoy our cattleman style performance and Boogie-woogie piano improvisation.
–How do you arrange and compose music?
(M)
Sometimes we compose music together from the outset, and sometimes either of us composes to some extent and then we both get together to arrange the piece.
(K)
Basically each of us composes own music.
We then sit in front of the piano and arrange by trial and error.
–Tell us about episodes or happenings which occur between you as brothers.
(M)
I think we can synchronize well because we are brothers.
We also often compose similar music at the same time.
(K)
I think it is important for an ensemble to synchronise breathing.
Because we are brothers it is probably easier for us to synchronize .
–Do you ever fight since you always sit next to each other?
(M)
I am 5 years older than Kei , so we haven’t fought all that much.
We try not to see each other except for when we're working (laughs).
We are both grown up now so we don’t really fight..
(K)
We haven’t fought much since when we were kids.
–What are your dream and goals for the future?
(M)
The tour this year kicks off in Australia and will last for one year.
There's a lot planned for next year also as it our our 10th anniversary.
I'll do my best to keep in good health to make our shows more & more enjoyable.
(K)
I would like to continually pursue our possibilities so that one day we'll be playing Grandfather Cattleman piano.
LES FRÈRES 2011 TOUR
DATES:
Friday 4 March – BMW Edge, Federation Square, MELBOURNE, 8pm-
Monday 7 March – Sydney Town Hall, SYDNEY
Thursday 10 March – The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre, CANBERRA
Saturday 12 March – The Astor Theatre, PERTH
Tuesday 15 March – Old Museum Concert Hall, BRISBANE^ (fundraising concert)
Fee:$15- $35, tickets are available from www.jpf.org.au
