Renowned pianist Fuzjko Hemming, known for her human touch in her performances, died of pancreatic cancer on April 21, the Fujiko Hemming Foundation said Thursday. She was 92.
Born in Berlin to a Swedish architect father and a Japanese pianist mother who was studying in Germany, Hemming, whose full name is Ingrid Fuzjko Georgii-Hemming, moved to Tokyo in her early childhood and began learning the piano from her mother at the age of 5.
She graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and began studying at a music school in Berlin at the age of 28. After graduation, she built her career as a performer and was recognized for her talent by conductor Leonard Bernstein.
Hemming lost hearing in her right ear in her teens due to a middle ear infection, and a cold in her mid-30s caused her to lose hearing in her left ear as well. While her left ear had recovered to a certain extent since then, the ailment caused her to briefly suspend her music activities. She returned to Japan in 1995 following the death of her mother.
The pianist shot to fame after a documentary program about her life was aired on Japanese public broadcaster NHK in 1999. Her debut album released the same year, “La Campanella,” sold over 2 million copies.
Hemming excelled at performing Franz Liszt’s “La Campanella,” and works by Frederic Chopin and Maurice Ravel.
She fell at her home last November and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March of this year.