MUSIC lovers Prepare for a night of divine and spellbinding sounds from some of Japan’s best classical musicians.

The Japan Foundation and the Embassy of Japan will bring together flutist Hiroshi Matsushima, koto player Noriko Tsuboi and pianist Keiko Suzuki on September 7 and 8 at Hotel Nikko Royal Lake Yangon.

The six programs planned for the two concerts will include music by famous Japanese composers and forerunners of traditional Japanese music.

The Embassy has held a solo koto show before but this is the first time it has been combined with other instruments in a concert here.

The koto, a long hollow instrument about six feet (180cm) long and 14 inches (25cm) wide, is made from paulownia wood, often called Empress Tree.

With its echoes of the western harp, dulcimer and lute, it is one of the most popular Japanese traditional musical instruments and is evocative of traditional Japan.

It is also one of the most chal-lenging instruments to play because of its wide variety of tunings.

Ms Tsuboi has taught the koto at the University of California, toured Central and South America under the Performance Abroad program sponsored by the Japanese Foundation and now resides in Bangkok.

Ms Suzuki has also studied the koto and now teaches and performs both the koto and piano.

Mr Matsushima began playing the flute in 1988 and has payed with the Hof and Munich Symphony Orchestras. In 2005 he became the principal flautist in the Thailand Philharmonic Orchesta.

Satoku Toku, secretary for Information and Culture at the Japan Embassy, said complimentary tickets will be available in the last week of August at the embassy.

“If there is a large number of interested parties then the tickets will be given out through first-com, first-served,” she said.

“We are holding this concert in the hope that our music will arouse interest among Myanmar people and to promote friendship between our two nations. If this is successful we will definitely hold another concert in the future.”