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■ Toru Kawahara (Musica Nova, March 2009)

Aki Fujii held a recital under the title of "Chorale—Vestige of Prayer II" following her previous one named "Aria—Vestige of Prayer I" in 2004. She created utterly impressive atmosphere by her attempt to recreate on the piano the essence of music in the sonorous granduer of organ chorales. The Partita No. 2 C minor by J. S. Bach followed by his organ chorale, "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (arr. Busoni) was filled with joy and sparkle of life. Fujii gave the Andante a wide range of expressions with her beautiful tone and subtle pianissimos and made the Fugue so brilliant. She sang the praises of life with wonderful intensity in the lyrical work of Franck, Prelude Chorale and Fugue. Fujii's beautiful tone and steady technique were accompanied by her sensitivity and intelligence. Her complete understanding and sympathy to the piece made the performance truly persuasive and profound. She revealed underlining lyricism and poetry of the work and created an overwhelming impression. The last piece of this recital was Liszt's Variations on Bach's Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen and Crucifixus from the Mass in B minor with which she presented her deep insight into the composer's mind through her magnificent rendering of the work. This totally compelling performance successfully left us a "Vestige of Prayer."