The Pianist Ukraine Loves: Nakamura Tempei / Composer & Pianist

Direct Talk

Ukraine

One Japanese musician has
the ears of many Ukrainians.

Nakamura Tempei is a Japanese pianist,

based in Europe and the United States.

He's given performances
in countries around the globe,

but Ukraine is by far his favorite.

The joy Ukrainians feel toward music,

and how they express that emotion,

that joy,

is so very passionate.

It was the kind of fervor that
I had long been searching for.

And...

I fell in love...

with Ukraine.

Tempei tickles the ivories

with memories of Ukraine
and world peace never far from his mind.

The Pianist Ukraine Loves

Belarus

Nakamura Tempei made
his professional debut in 2008

and has been touring the world ever since.

Poland

France

Austria

He doesn't just perform indoors;

but busks on his electric keys
whenever and wherever he can.

Italy

USA

He also composes.

To date, he has penned
more than 100 compositions,

but only one bears the name of a nation –

Ukrainian Fantasy.

Ukrainian Fantasy
Composed by Nakamura Tempei

Kyiv, Ukraine
May 2019

He wrote it after his first visit
to the country in 2010,

and he visited Ukraine annually
until the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Tempei has traveled the world,

but Ukraine holds a
unique fascination for him.

Ukraine was one country
that was under my radar.

I got the feeling I would experience
things I'd never experienced before

and see things that were
out of the ordinary for me,

so I was excited about visiting the country.

The moment I landed the scenery
before my eyes was amazing,

something I had never seen before.

That got my pulse racing.

One thing I felt that was different there
to the rest of Europe...

was the joy Ukrainians feel toward music,

and how they express that emotion,

that joy,

is so very passionate.

It's like a mass of passion.

They seriously listen to music.

I mean...

It's the kind of fervor
that I was searching for.

The kind of emotion I was searching for.

This made me fall in love with Ukraine...

and... from there I was touring,
almost every year.

Kyiv, Ukraine
May 2019

Good evening.

How is everyone?

I am Nakamura Tempei.
Thank you.

Ichigo Ichie
(Once in a Lifetime Encounter)
Composed by Nakamura Tempei

Most of the compositions he performs
are his own.

Tempei often appears on local TV shows
during his annual tours through the country.

Japanese composer Nakamura Tempei,
whose melodies blend jazz, rock and classical,

visited Kyiv and performed
with two 14-year-old violin prodigies.

Despite their young age, both are
wonderful professional musicians.

Today they played as a duo.

Why do you like to come back actually
our country and perform here again?

Okay. I think, Ukraine has so many
good culture especially for music

and there are so many talented musicians.

I am inspired (by)
many musicians from Ukraine,

and I like Ukraine and Ukrainian people,

that's why (because)
people are very pure and modest,

and this sense is little bit similar
and common with Japanese people.

The pandemic curtailed
Tempei's visits to Ukraine

And his disappointment
at being unable to play there

was exacerbated by the Russian invasion.

Not a day goes by without him thinking about
the country and people he loves.

Since I never imagined
it would come to war.

I felt a deep sense of despair...
when the war began.

It wasn't something happening
in some far-flung country.

It is a place where...

all my good friends...

actually live.

Every day, I see tragic videos

and photos posted by my
Ukrainian friends on social media.

It's surreal,

but...but these are people I know

and these are places I've been, you know?

Part of me feels it's surreal;

part of me is sad that
these places are being destroyed.

It's more than me being sad;

it's obvious that they are
going through a tough time.

There, I stopped to think about
what I could do for them,

and I began a campaign

by uploading videos in support of Ukraine

and called for donations to their cause.

And that's the best I can do, right?

I can't just jump on a plane to help them.

Even if I did just turn up now,
I'd be in the way.

The only avenue available to me
right now to support them

is through my music.

Tempei uploads his past performances
and streams live on his YouTube channel,

calling for donations
for the war in Ukraine.

He had collected over 10,000 U.S. dollars,
in less than six months.

An event that occurred
when Tempei was a child

also motivates him in his charity.

When I was 14, an enormous earthquake
struck Kobe, where I lived.

Our home was totally destroyed.

Tempei

Tempei began learning the piano
from the age of five,

but quit when he was in junior high school.

Then disaster hit.

The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

with its epicenter just south of Kobe

struck in the early morning of January 17, 1995.

The family was asleep
on the ground level of their home.

The house around them collapsed,

but their lives were miraculously
saved by the piano Tempei played.

After many years without touching one,

he took the piano up again at 18
with an interest in progressive rock.

He entered a music school,

then went on to major in classical piano
at a university of arts.

Upon graduation, he made his debut
as a solo pianist.

The fact that I was a victim of the
Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake,

of course, has a lot to do with it.

Therefore, if there are people in need,

I have a strong desire
to help them out however I can.

You also had the
Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011

and the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake.

Now, it's the people of Ukraine.

And I can't just sit back and watch.

They are...

proud to be Ukrainian...

but...

at the same time they feel an inferiority
that might stem from their oppression.

That's who they are.

And when I play one of their Ukrainian songs

or greet them in their own tongue,

they are very grateful.

Their applause is thunderous...

full of joy...

and at times everyone in the
concert hall will start singing.

Nich Yaka Misyachna
(What a Moonlit Night)
Ukrainian folk song

I have benefited so much
from knowing Ukrainians.

And it's because I have benefited,

that I probably would not
forgive myself I didn't do anything.

It goes without saying that
I'll reach out and lend them a hand.

They have helped me so much.

Spiritual Road
Composed by Nakamura Tempei

June 2022.

Kumano Hongu Taisha
Wakayama Prefecture

With the continuing unrest,

Tempei could not see himself
visiting his beloved Ukraine.

So, in lieu, he performed
at Kumano Hongu Taisha,

a grand Shinto shrine in his native Japan,

where he dedicated his tune,

Spiritual Road,

to the deities in prayer
for peace in Ukraine.

Life

Many people have lost their lives
during the coronavirus pandemic.

People have even committed suicide.

And now you have many lives
being lost in Ukraine.

I cannot..

save lives through my music,

but I can soothe their souls.

I want to...

save...

lives...

soothe souls...

as many as I can,

so I choose "life."

Life