1993 Benefiting from the opportunity to release the album in London, the popularity and critical acclaim here led to her debut in Japan the following year.
In 1994, he released albums such as "Ikko", "Ikko #2" and "Classic Mania" under the stage name "Ikko". As her workload increased and she needed to constantly deal with trivial matters, she began to have the desire to "throw away all the troublesome things." After those troubled days of constantly searching for "her own music", she gradually found her ideal path of development and gained the ability to create a unique musical world and expressiveness.
The album "Red Violin", which was released in 2000 under the original name of Ikuko Kawai, made her debut and became a popular work that transcended the existing musical realm. The title song can be said to be Kawai's famous work. He started a music tour focusing on his own original songs. This tour not only attracted many classical music lovers, but also won the appreciation of new listeners. She also performed regularly on many TV programs, played the Japanese national anthem "Kiminoyo" at a professional baseball game, performed during halftime of the 25th American Football Game, etc., and also participated in sports activities. .
The second album "Violin Muse" was released in 2001. Original music, using originality to successfully create new music that transcends human power. Not to mention musical activities, she is also active in media such as TV performances and commercials. What is particularly commendable is that she made the Lipton Tea commercial song (performed with Togi Hideki) into a CD. While carrying out a variety of activities, it also held charity concerts and participated in drug eradication campaigns. His performance for Prime Minister Koizumi at the Prime Minister's Office and his performance at the NHK Red and White Singing Contest were widely broadcast and attracted much attention.
In addition, she also serves as an associate professor at Osaka University of the Arts (Department of Art), responsible for the guidance of new students.
The third album "Instinct" was released in 2002. From conception to execution, it was all a meticulous work of her own directing and acting. The work that beautifully presents Kawai's world with all his heart has received high praise from all sides. The entire theme song "Instinct" and all its beats were highly praised by Kitano, who "wanted to use it as the theme song for a movie someday" and named it himself. On the one hand, he focused on original compositions and began to devote himself to national tours. He was invited to perform as a soloist by first-class orchestras such as the Warsaw Philharmonic, the New York Symphony Chorus, and the Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra, which also affirmed his performance in classical music. strength. In the super entertainment of music and dance - RED (performer and choreographer: Haruka Kamiten), one of the three major artists is the bandoneon (an instrument that plays tango) player: Ryota Komatsu, dance: Dai Sasaki and others* **Performing at the same time further consolidated her performance ability on the new artistic stage. December DVD video "Instinct Tour 2002".
In 2003, in Taiwan, a new album "Violin Muse" was released following "Red Violin". During her promotional visit to Taiwan, she performed hand in hand with Chris Babida, a frequent guest of the Hong Kong Academy Awards film department, and held concerts in various places. She also made TV and radio appearances, which was widely praised by the local media. publicity. She was also awarded the honor of "Art Goddess" by Jingo Records, a major record company in Taiwan. Produced a promotional song for GuerLain’s perfume “L’INSTANT DE GUERLAIN”. This is the second time that I have composed music for the company's perfume, after the last one for "mahora". These two pieces of music were inspired by the feeling of fragrance, presenting a brand-new world of music that mesmerizes the audience and captures their souls.
At the "2003 World Figure Skating Championships", Michelle Kwan competed with "Red Violin" as the background music and won the final victory. As a result, Kawai attracted worldwide attention.
She also provided "Violin Muse" as the theme song for the Spanish film "Queen of Fana" (original name: Juana La Loca). Since March, he has been responsible for the development project of Hario Glass Co., Ltd.'s image design. He has successfully produced the world's first glass violin "King of Glass Violin" and produced the theme promotional song "The White Sand～白沙～". He also produced the ending song "Muse of Light and Wind" for TV TOKYO's "World Business Satellite Saturday Edition". She was also responsible for the stage music of the historical drama "Okawa Umi", and even performed on the spot that day. The stage, which perfectly combines violin and historical drama, was highly praised by the audience. (Original work: Naoki Prize Writer: Ichiriki Yamamoto)
In 2004, the fourth album "AURORA" and the DVD version "AURORA" were released. Challenge the majestic symphony with Sinfonia Finlandia Jyvaskyla! By actively using pipe organs, shakuhachi, percussion instruments, etc., we have succeeded in creating a unique sound world while inheriting and promoting the traditional musical culture of classical music. This disc won the first place in the classical music rankings and also dominated various other rankings. Launched a nationwide music tour for this album. The performance at Tokyo Orchard Hall was widely broadcast on Classica Japan (music website) and other media.
On the other hand, he also actively participates in music festivals held in various places and is committed to developing music culture. She played the title role in "Shanghai Ijin Whorehouse" (original work: Shuji Terayama) for which Mr. Akira Uno was the stage art director. She presented a new world where music and dance are integrated and received great acclaim. In addition to her performing activities, she also participated in various TV dramas such as "Tetsuko's Room", "Unknown Concert 2", "Winter Welcome Sonata", etc. In addition, she also produced "Final Report! Yi (dean's name)" ) is the ending theme song "INSTINCT RHAPSODY" of the program "Shen Sensational Family Medicine" (broadcast by TV Asahi). Starting from October, the music program "Music Score" (TV Tokyo) hosted by Kawai will be officially Every time she is broadcast, she invites artists from various genres to be VIP guests and conducts interviews. It can be seen that she is also very active in TV, advertising and other media
In 2005, she released the single album "Wuthering Heights ~ Heathcliff" Highly recommended”, 5th album “Wuthering Heights”.
Integrate your own inner emotions into the character of the heroine of the famous movie, and vividly depict the sentimental inner emotions and instincts of women. During the creation, various musical elements such as "Bulgarian Mysterious Sound", electric guitar, shakuhachi, and her precious violin (made by Stradivari and his son) were used to vividly express the emotions of the entire story. come out. She released this album not only in Japan, but also in South Korea. As a result, it caused a great response there and its popularity continues to rise.
During the music tour of this album, the famous dancer and singer J David was invited to work together to launch exquisite and gorgeous stage performances across the country.
In June, the original stage play "Fairy Three Colors" was held for the first time at the Ginza Hakuhinkan Theater (performance script, dance director: Haruka Ueda). Taking "love" as the theme, I use my own fallen fairy (dependence, coquettishness, magic) feeling on the stage to depict the world view formed by the three elements of "white", "black" and "red", and dance with ballet dancers. Everyone challenged this stage together. Kawai used a new way of expression to create an independent world view that was not accessible to other followers. It received rave reviews from all walks of life. As a result, she planned to make this stage play into a series of performances.
"Distinct 2005 Beauty Beast" (Art Supervisor Script Art) in collaboration with "Dance Elements" (dance group: a music and dance group formed in 1995 by sisters Chiyuki Saito and Akira Uno) Costume: Akira Uno, performance and choreography director: Chiyuki Saito, performance supervisor: Kim Shouzhen). This stage play is the second stage play after "Shanghai Foreign Prostitution House" in 2004. This stage play has been highly praised by all parties for its overwhelming visual impact. It has not only been performed in Japan, but also fulfilled its wish to perform in South Korea.
The theme song of the TV drama "Hundred Views of Water" (TV Tokyo), the prelude song "Shelter" of "Music Score", "NHK Everyone's Song" (4~ May) "NHK Heart project" (NHK Heart project) theme song "Auntie", etc., responsible for multiple music production of TV series. In terms of commercials, we filmed commercials for Sumitomo Mitsui's VISA Platinum Credit Card (music used for "Wuthering Heights" and "Violin Muse"), commercials for Hitachi Building Systems Office Building (music composed for "AER"), HARIO Glass (music used for music "AER") "summer storm" advertising. In addition, she also serves as a professor at Osaka University of the Arts, working hard to continuously cultivate a new generation of musical talents. While planning as many activities as possible, she continued to pursue the expansion of the violin's musical range and held concerts, stage plays, and other activities. She held as many as 100 public performances in a year. !