Live music

Junko Ueda

24.05.2025

The biwa is a Japanese lute that, like most of the country’s traditional instruments, has its origins in a Chinese predecessor.

Throughout its history, it has been used by different social groups and for a range of functions, from court music to accompaniment for the recitation of Buddhist texts or the narration of epic tales.
Renowned performer Junko Ueda presents a program focused on the repertoire of these stories. As in many aspects of the samurai world of feudal Japan, these narratives are imbued with Buddhist themes and values such as the impermanence of life, the suffering caused by attachment, and transience.

Concert presented by Horacio Curti, ethnomusicologist.