Presenting: Borrowed Landscapes
Surviving Instruments of WWII and the People
Who Played Them
Concertnova presents: Borrowed Landscape,
a narratorio on war, memory and healing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CINCINNATI, OH – On September 29, concertnova presents a powerful project exploring war, memory, and healing. Written for piano trio and voices, Borrowed Landscape is a “narratorio” written by the German playwright duo, Tauchgold, with original music composed by Dai Fujikara. Following the true stories of a Stradivarius left in a cellar in Budapest; a double bass left behind in 1939 when its owner fled Poland; and a piano silenced after the Hiroshima bomb killed its young owner, the piece contemplates memory and the meanings we assign to the objects in our lives. The theatrical presentation incorporates the words of the actual owner of the piano–Akiko Kawamoto–in a plea to remember how we are all connected.
Akiko’s piano served as a catalyst for the Borrowed Landscape project. Born in Los Angeles in 1926, Akiko’s parents bought her an upright Baldwin (made in Cincinnati), which they took with them when they moved back to Japan in 1932. They settled in Hiroshima, and thirteen years later, Akiko was killed by the atomic bomb at age 19. Eventually the family had the piano restored and it now resides at Hiroshima City Peace Memorial Park Rest House. Every year since 2005, it’s been played in a special early-August concert, including by such pianists as Martha Argerich and Peter Serkin. Glass shards from the nuclear blast remain embedded in the Baldwin to this day.
Said co-playwright Florian Goldberg at the Hiroshima premiere, “We have a responsibility to not look away; to not be silent; and to not forget.” (NHK World)
Borrowed Landscapes was first broadcast in 2022 on Deutschlandfunk. It had its stage premiere in New York in 2023 and its Japanese stage premiere in Hiroshima in 2025. More information is available on the project here.
Mainstage Concerts
Concertnova’s #mainstage concert series presents large-scale events that put classical music front and center. Expect to hear amazing musical performances and explore new ideas from an interdisciplinary lens.
About concertnova:
concertnova is a Cincinnati-based chamber music ensemble dedicated to pushing the boundaries of classical music through innovative programming, collaborations, and community engagement. By blending art forms and amplifying diverse voices, concertnova creates immersive musical experiences that resonate with modern audiences.
WHO: concertnova
Musicians:
Anna Reider, violin
Luis Celis, bass
Anna Vinnitsky, piano
Actors:
TaShauna Jenkins
Darnell Pierre Benjamin
Daniela Nenova
Justin McCombs
WHAT: Borrowed Landscape
WHEN: September 29, 2025 @ 7:30 pm
WHERE: Mercantile Library | 414 Walnut St. #1100, Cincinnati, OH. 45202
TICKETS: available now at concertnova.com
ABOUT: click here for press kit | click here for info on concertnova |
CONTACT: Brianna Matzke (info@concertnova.com) or Sara Danner Dukic (sara@maiarts.it)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Brianna Matzke
ARTISTIC DIRECTORS: Joseph Bricker, Ixi Chen, Joseph Morris
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