| Intro | Pianist/composer |
| Is |
Musician Pianist Singer Composer Songwriter |
| From |
France United Kingdom |
| Type | Music |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | England |
Jason Kouchak is a pianist, composer and singer-songwriter whose works, interests, public contributions and charitable associations span the world including the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Early life
Jason Mariano Kouchak was born in Lyon, France. He was educated at Westminster School and studied classical piano at the Royal College of Music and Edinburgh University. He is a descendant of Alexander Kolchak, the Russian naval commander.
Performing and recording career
Jason Kouchak has recorded five albums. Two of which were recorded at Abbey Road Studios. He has appeared on British Television (BBC) and the Japanese Broadcasting company (NHK) performing his own musical compositions. He has toured globally as a classical pianist, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
He has performed at the Royal Festival Hall (London), Salle Pleyel (Paris), and the Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg) with recitals at the Edinburgh International Festival.
Other performances include “The Moon represents my Heart” arranged for Julian Lloyd Webber & Jiaxin Cheng at the Chelsea Arts Club celebrating Lloyd Webber’s 60th Birthday gala concert and Chopin’s bicentennial Guildhall Concert with singer and actress Elaine Paige in 2010.
He has also sung in cabaret performances at the Café de Paris and the Café Royal.
Jason performed at the Galle Literary Festival 2012 with Tom Stoppard and in the same year gave a piano recital at the opening of the London Chess Classic. In 2012 he became the Director of Music for the 20th anniversary of the French Film Festival UK in London and Edinburgh, performing on Chopin’s anniversary at the British Embassy in Paris.
Select appearances
In 1990 he was a guest artist at Princess Margaret’s 60th Birthday Celebration at the Ritz Hotel and appeared as guest classical pianist at Zeffirelli’s film premiere of Hamlet in the same year.
Kouchak performed his interpretation of “Sakura” for Emperor Akihito at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 1998. He also performed this at the Kobe earthquake charity event in 1995. This piece was recorded with Julian Lloyd Webber on his album Cello Moods and presented by Olympic ice skater Yuka Sato in 1999.
In 2011 and 2013 Kouchak performed the Russian song “Dark Is the Night
He performed Scheherazade at the official opening ceremony for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in March 2015and composed the Festival’s official 2016 theme song.
Public contributions
Kouchak’s contributions include the launching of two Children’s Giant Chess Sets at Holland Park,London with Stuart Conquest in 2010 and in The Meadows (park) Edinburgh in 2013 and John Tenniel’s Alice in Wonderland chess set. He also composed the official chess charity theme song “Moving Forward” for CSC.
Kouchak also founded the Tsubasa Children’s Choir in 2011 which opened the Matsuri Festival and performed Jupiter from Holst’s Planets suite in the Queen’s Jubilee year 2012 at Trafalgar Square, London.
In 2016 his chess and ballet musical work was performed at the British Museum and in New York celebrating the role of women as Queens in chess.
Discography
- Comme d’Habitude (2011)
- Midnight Classics (2008)
- Forever (2001)
- Watercolours (1999)
- Première Impression – 1997
- Cello Moods (Sakura only)
- ^ Kouchak, Jason. “Comme d’Habitude”. j. kouchak. Retrieved 25 May 2011.