Origin

As a Japanese cellist, Michiaki Ueno wants to introduce the world to the remarkable music of his home country. At first glance, this may seem like a conventional statement. However, when one considers his background, these words take on a different significance. Born in Paraguay in 1995 and raised in Spain, Michiaki Ueno saw a video of Yo-Yo Ma when he was four years old and was fascinated. At five, he received his first cello as a Christmas gift—and his musical journey began. For someone like Ueno, Japan was both his home and a distant, unknown place. “I never really thought about Japanese culture,” he says. “When Europeans spoke kindly about Japan, I was embarrassed to realize how little I actually knew.” As he grew up, Ueno felt increasingly compelled to think about his cultural identity and explore it. Unlike someone who grew up in Japan and takes their surroundings for granted, Ueno viewed the country as something foreign that had to be consciously examined and understood, and for which he had to make a conscious choice. Performing works by Japanese composers is a direct consequence of this realization.