Best Album of 2024

Time Will Tell (Andy Milne and Unison) was selected as one of the Best Albums of 2024 by Downbeat Magazine. Yoko Reikano Kimura joined this album as the guest Japanese koto performer. This album is available at many kinds of platforms worldwide. The details about this album is here (Sunnyside Records.)

For Your Grammy ® Consideration

Please accept Duo YUMENO 夢乃’s world-premiere recording of Daron Hagen’s CD-length work for koto, cello, voice, and fixed media “The Heike Quinto” for your GRAMMY® nomination consideration in the category of Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance. (September 20, 2024)   

Articles and Reviews: Heike Quinto

The articles and reviews about Duo YUMENO‘s new album, Heike Quinto (composed by Daron Hagen) were published on the following sites. (August 1, 2024) Naxos Japan (Japan)Pizzicato (Germany)The Art Music Lounge (US)Interlude (Hong Kong) 

Duo YUMENO’s New Album:HEIKE QUINTO (composed by Daron Hagen)

Duo YUMENO’s second album, HEIKE QUINTO (composed by Daron Hagen) will be released worldwide from NAXOS on May 24, 2024.The album will be available on CDs, Naxos online, iTunes, Arkiv Music and other various platforms. Between 2015 and 2022, the duo commissioned to Hagen, the revered composer particularly in the opera world, to create a suite of pieces inspired by The Tale of the Heike, a masterpiece in medieval Japanese literature. The duo has performed the pieces countless times at venues as celebrated as the Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall to many intimate performance spaces. For more details about this album, please visit NAXOS website. (May 1, 2024)

Extensive interview on Yomiuri Shimbun’s Shiga edition

On March 1, Yoko Reikano Kimura’s interview was featured on Yomiuri Shimbun’s Shiga edition. (Yomiuri Shimbun is one of the biggest Japanese news papers published in Tokyo.) Kimura talked about Heike Quinto (composed by Daron Hagen) new album, her concert series, Four Seasons in NY and her passion for koto concerto. (March 10, 2024) 

The Tale of Genji: A Koto Concert at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Yoko was featured at “The Tale of Genji: A Koto Concert” presented by Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yoko performed one of her signature repertoires, “Koto Concerto: Genji” composed by brilliant American composer, Daron Hagen with string members of INTERWOVEN and New Asia Chamber Music Society. Along with the concerto, Yoko sang a classical song: “Kumiuta: Akashi” composed by Kitajima-kengyo.  (October 16, 2023)Photo courtesy of Musical Instruments Department. 

Double Concerto by American Composer, Daron Hagen

Duo YUMENO will give the World Premiere performance of Aviary: Concerto for Koto, Cello and Orchestra composed by a prominent American composer, Daron Hagen in 2024 – 2026. More information about this work, and joining to the consortium, visit this site. About Duo YUMENO, please visit the duo’s website and here. (July, 2023)

New website: Duo YUMENO

Duo YUMENO is happy to announce the renewal of our website! You can see all contents in both English and Japanese. The photo on the top page was taken by an award-winning photographer, Kasia Idzkowska. Please visit Duo YUMENO’s new website.  (May 12, 2023)