Digitized Sounds of A-Bomb-Surviving Piano Unveiled

Hiroshima, Oct. 16 (Jiji Press)–The sounds of a piano that survived the U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japan city of Hiroshima 80 years ago have been digitized. On Wednesday, a concert was held in Hiroshima to unveil the digitized sounds for the first time. The event was joined by Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino and Argentine pianist Martha Argerich. The Baldwin piano has scratch marks from glass shards. It belonged to Akiko Kawamoto, who died at the age of 19 after being exposed to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. The piano was repaired after being gifted to Tomie Futakuchi, 76, a friend of Kawamoto’s parents. Known as “Akiko’s piano,” the instrument has been featured in activities to promote the importance of peace at concerts and educational settings since 2005. Despite the owner’s wish for the piano to be played overseas, it cannot be transported outside Japan because its ivory keys are subject to restrictions under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention. Due to concerns about the aging piano’s fragility, a project to make a digital recording of the instrument’s sounds was launched. The sound of each of the piano’s 88 keys was recorded at six volume levels, and the recordings were analyzed. The piano’s sounds were digitally reproduced through fine adjustments based on comparisons with the actual sounds. Futakuchi said that Kawamoto’s parents had to cremate their daughter themselves, and that they would not talk about her. “I want to convey the unexpressed feelings of her parents” through the piano, Futakuchi said. “From Hiroshima to the world, I want to pass on (the sounds) to the future generations, across regions and beyond time.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]