Koto

 

 

The koto is the national instrument of Japan, akin to the Chinese zheng. A koto usually has 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges, but versions with 20 strings are used as well. Concertos for this instrument are rare, but they do exist even by non-Japanese composers like Cowell and Regan. I've selected one by Daron Hagen. His 2011 composition Genji is a concerto for 20-string koto and orchestra in five parts. It is played by Yumi Kurosawa with the Orchestra of the Swan under David Curtis on MSR.