Album Notes

A "Hottest Products of 2004" award winner from iParenting Media Awards and a Parents' Choice Recommended Recording! The piece "Midnight Rain" was nominated as Best Asian Song for the 2006 Just Plain Folks Music Award.
.....At last, Japanese music for chocolate lovers! Recording artist and koto master Elizabeth Falconer combines forces with her son Brian to play koto music as smooth and uplifting as chocolate. You don't have to be a Japan expert or practice Zen meditation to enjoy this. Inspired by her son's love of chocolate, Falconer has composed music that is warm and inviting, sophisticated yet accessible. The silken sound of of the koto evokes images of delicate blossoms and soft clouds. A delicious album for all ages to enjoy.
Why chocolate? "It all started when I wrote a koto duo for my son, who absolutely loves chocolate," Elizabeth explains. "We began to play the piece two years ago, and audiences love it. I want to help break koto music out of its stuffy, academic image. You don't have to be a Japan expert or practice meditation to enjoy koto music," she says. "To me, koto music is fun and inspiring, subtle and uplifting. Connecting this to something like chocolate is a way to share my own feelings about the music with new listeners," she explains. "Koto is the perfect sound to pair with chocolate. As an artist, it is a continuation of my exploration with this instrument, finding new ways of sharing Japanese culture and music while staying true to the tradition."
Elizabeth Falconer first went to Japan in 1973, and began studying koto in 1979, studying for over a decade in Japan. She tours internationally and frequently performs "Koto Tales," her award-winning versions of Japanese folktales with koto music. Brian Falconer began studying koto in 1998, at the age of six, studying under Elizabeth Falconer and Kazue Sawai. Elizabeth and Brian's koto duo, "Wasabi!" has performed extensively in the Pacific Northwest and Japan.

This is what Parents' Choice says about the CD:
This one is for day-dreaming. Maybe while watching drifting clouds, a dancing fire in the fireplace or trees rustling in the wind. Koto maestra Elizabeth Falconer, accompanied by fellow koto artist Brian Falconer -- her remarkable pre-teen son - perform instrumental pieces on the 13-string, "chocolate-colored" koto, playing together and solo. The beautiful, varied pieces are Elizabeth Falconer's original works, except for "Festival Drums," a lively solo work by Miyagi Michio given a spirited performance by Brian. -- Lynn Heffley, Parents' Choice