About
The pianist, composer, bass player and author, Chie Ishii, was born in Tokyo, Japan. At the age of 4, she started playing the piano. She had her first public concert when she was 6 years old. At the age of 12, she fell in love with the music of Frederic Chopin. At the same time, she was fascinated by rock music and played keyboard in many different rock bands in Japan.
Chie Ishii left Japan when she was 19. She lived in the United States from 1983 till 1989 and studied music - piano performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston, in Brevard Music School in North Carolina and at College of the Ozarks in Arkansas. In these years she also learned the alto saxophone and the electric bass guitar. She won first prizes in different piano competitions in US and finished her music diploma with honour.
Besides her profession as a concert pianist, a studio musician and a church organist, she was also the director of the YAMAHA music school in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In 1990 she worked at the Oxford University in England, and since 1991 she lives in Berlin, Germany.
In 1997 she was the first audio-DVD recording artist in Europe. This Recording, CD "Berlin Affair" was introduced at the international consumer electronic show in Berlin. So far she has released 4 solo albums with the works of Chopin and of her own and one album with the compositions of Heinz Erhardt.
In 2003 she formed her own rock ‘n’ roll band "Breathless", in which she plays the bass guitar and which she manages.
She is also a piano teacher and an author of music books. In 2006 her piano method "Piano Basics" (Basisbuch Klavier) was published, which is for all ages from 4 with or without prior knowledge. In 2007 three further books, "20 Small Concert Pieces", "I’ll Think about You"- 5 romantic compositions of Chie Ishii and a keyboard method "Let’s Get on to the Keys" (An die Tasten) were published. In 2009 three further books, "Christmas on Earth" – Piano and Keyboard Arrangements of popular Christmas carols, "Heinz Erhardt mal klassisch" and a song book of a rock band from Berlin called "MIA" were published.
Chie Ishii‘s current repertoire includes besides the famous works of romanticism especially those of Frederic Chopin, numerous original composition of her own, with which she expresses her extraordinary emotions.
Since 2008 her repertoire includes also the piano works of the German humorist Heinz Erhardt, which were unpublished and unknown until then. Chie Ishii possesses the hand written music of these pieces. In 2009 she was the only authorized person who was allowed to present these compositions in public for the first time in celebration of Heinz Erhardt’s 100th birthday.
References
Concerts
Philharmonie Berlin (Kammermusiksaal/ Chamber Hall) | Universität der Künste Berlin/ University of Art Berlin |
Schauspielhaus Berlin | Frankfurter Börse/ Frankfurt Stock Exchange |
Schloßtheater im neuen Palais (Potsdam) | Volkstheater (München) |
Franziskaner Konzerthaus (Schwarzwld/ Black Forest) | Aidsgala (Sylt, Köln) |
Konzert/ Concert im KaDeWe Berlin | Hogatec (Düsseldorf) |
Jazz Radio Berlin (101.9) | Spiegelsaal Bad Nauheim |
Kunstauktion / Art Auction (Berlin) | Golfclub Schloß Nippenburg |
Neue Tonhalle (Schwarzwald/ Black Forest) | Golfclub Bad Bentheim |
Palais am Festungsgraben (Berlin) | Konzerte beim Unternehmerverband ASU & BJU in Berlin/ |
Literaturfest im Kleisthaus (Berlin) | (Concerts at the Enterpriser´s Association ASU & BJU in Berlin) |
Kulturfesttage/ Culture Festival (Berlin) | Heimat/ Folklore Museum Berlin |
Filmstudio Babelsberg | Konzerte in Tokyo, Japan |
Hotel Estrel Berlin | Top Hotel Magazin Events |
Abgeordnetenhaus Berlin/ House of Representatives (Berlin) | Intercontinental Hotel Berlin |
Konzert auf der Zugspitze | Dorint Hotel (Sylt, Bad Neuenahr, Neuss & Garmisch- Partenkirchen) |
Schlot (Jazz Club) Berlin | Tag der deutschen Einheit Konzert/ German Reunification´s Day Concert |
Gotischer Saal der Zitadelle Berlin | Kulturbrauerei Berlin |
Ernst-Reuter-Saal Berlin | Hotel Kempinski Berlin |
Mercedes Haus Berlin | Leucorea Lutherstadt Wittenberg |
Görres Haus (Koblenz) | Lions Club Events (Worms) |
Konzerthalle/Concert Hall der Bad Freienwalde | Pädagogische Hochschule/University of Education (Weingarten) |
Augus-Theater Neu-Ulm | Kulturzentrum/Culture Center Linse (Weingarten) |
Kulturzentrum /Culture Center K9 (Konstanz) | Japan Tour with the 12 Tenors |
u.s.w / etc |
Cruises
MS/ MV Europa (5 Sterne plus/ 5 Stars plus) | MS Hanseatic | MS Bremen |
MS Deutschland | MS Columbus | MS Berlin |
MS Delphin | MS Arkona | MS Song of Flower |
MS Delphin Voyager | MS Princess Daphne | MS Ocean Majesty |
MS Hamburg | MS Amadeus |
TV appearances
ARD | RTL | Sat 1 |
MDR | WDR | Deutsche Welle TV |
FAB Berlin | ZDF-Traumschiff | NDR |
rbb |
Radio
Jazz Radio Berlin | SFB | Radio 100,6 |
rbb Kulturradio | Deutschland Radio |
Press
Chie has received much press coverage during her career. The table below shows scanned copies of selected newspaper articles. Please click on the row to view the full-sized article. Note that all the articles currently shown are in the German language.