Aki Kuroda's album:

Tarkus & Pictures At An Exhibition
VICC-60391

Contains:

Tarkus (music: Emerson / lyrics: Lake / translation: Pisati - unless
                otherwise noted)
01. ERUPTION
02. POPUP FUGUE (Pisati)
03. STONES OF YEARS
04. WHAT A WONDERFUL TRAIN (Pisati)
05. ICONOCLAST
06. PREPOPLUDE (Pisati)
07. MASS
08. THE RUNNNING PIANO TRAIN (Pisati)
09. MANTICORE
10. ERUPTION PART II

Pictures At An Exhibition (music: Mussorgsky)
11. PROMENADE
12. I. GNOMUS
13. PROMENADE
14. II. IL VECCHIO CASTELLO (THE OLD CASTLE)
15. PROMENADE
16. III. THE TUILERIES GARDENS
17. IV. BYDLO
18. PROMENADE

Currently available on Victor Records Japan (or as a Victor Japan import at places such as Amazon.com). Here are some useful links to learn more about the album:

Album web site at Victor Japan (includes some audio previews)
   (in Japanese but the audio preview links are pretty obvious)

About Aki Kuroda (English site)

Liner Notes by Keith Emerson:

"I recall meeting the great Maestro Alberto Ginestera in Geneva, 1977 to gain his approval of my adaptation of the 3rd Movement of his piano concerto, which I named "Toccata". His approval or dismissal of my adaptation weighed heavily upon myself and my band (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) because we'd spent such a lot of time getting it right. I'd originally heard Ginesteras' work in 1969. Earlier, 1971, while creating "Tarkus," Ginestera's influence was pervasive to such an extent that I wanted to create sounds such as his but using unconventional instruments such as the Moog modular system proved testing... nevertheless I gained the Maestro's approval.

It's relatively easy to re-arrange a song that everyone knows and small consolation to find out that although the composer can't sing- he can play. I remember my father advising me when I was fifteen, "Son, you're never going to make a living if people can't sing what you write."

I also remember going down to a London nightclub "1982" in the hope of finding a companion. I sat next to a beautiful lady that recognized me from being in the "Rock" business.

"Sing something I might recognize," she requested.

I thought I might try and sing "Lucky Man" but gave up as I sing so bad, deaf people refuse to read my lips.

Trying to sing "Tarkus" proved more testing furthering my father's point - "Don't sing, play!" Needless to say I didn't score that night but went on scoring in manuscript form instead with my first piano concerto.

In this recording is a great degree of controlled sensitivity/madness contained within extreme accuracy while Aki Kuroda's interpretation of "Tarkus" does everything that I aspire to. When I composed this suite I sat at a piano. When I recorded and performed it I made the fullest use of electronics and pyrotechnics, most times to extreme excess. In those days I was playing to 14,000-seated arenas and electronics were necessary in order to carry the sound often beyond the venue. Indeed, with ELP we performed and recorded this piece in quadraphonic sound. Aki proves this is not necessary and approaches "Tarkus" in the manner it was intended. Along with taking extreme license with her fellow musicians. They all encapsulate the meaning of underground/overground in the 70's with such classical finesse.

Here all the targets hit...played without Moog synthesizers blowing up smoke and ribbon controllers firing flares into the audience, it's what I've always wanted to hear. If I hadn't written it I'd want to listen to stuff like this! I am really, really honoured.

THANK YOU AKI,
KEITH EMERSON "