Kozo Kanatani was born in Kobe in 1966 and began the guitar at age 10 under the direction of
Katsuo Kobayashi and Ichiro Okamoto.
He went to France in 1984 where he studied at the
Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris under Alexandre Lagoya
and Carel Harms,
and at the Universite Musicale Internationale de Paris under Michel Sadanowsky.
He also
participated in Leo Brouwer’s masterclasses in the south of France and the Netherlands.
During his studies abroad, he appeared on Radio France’s modern music program and was
involved in the performance of many new works.
In Paris in 1989 at the Salle Cortot, he gave his
debut recital with a modern music program.
He has won numerous awards in domestic and international competitions, including first place at
the 2nd Chanterelle International Guitar Competition
and third at the 43rd Tokyo International
Guitar Competition (the highest for a guitarist from Japan).
With a wide repertoire spanning music from the Baroque, Classical, and modern periods, Kozo
Kanatani is highly acclaimed for his aesthetics of sound
and for his refined artistic expression, both
tools which he uses for communicating his great love for music.
Since 2011 he has started performing on the eleven-string guitar to explore new soundscapes.
He currently lives in Nara where he teaches aspiring students.
昔むかし音楽好きが高じてギターをやるも、学生の時にいくつかのコンクールで賞を頂いたのを勘違いしてそのままフランス留学。
下手なりにもパリ高等音楽院に入れたり、国際コンクールで優勝できたりする。天狗になって帰国後は何度も何度も日本のギター界に嫌気がさしては辞め、復活しては離れを繰り返すが
それでもやっぱり音楽が好きなことは変えられず、地元で細々と活動することを目指して「エスカルゴなギター」を主宰。
その後いろいろ有って路上演奏を開始、現在に至る。
クラシックギタリストでありながら「スペイン」にまったく興味がなく、ギターの話題、うんちくなどにも辟易している、まぁ変わり種。
演奏依頼に関してはこちらをお読みください。