The name “Asuka” comes from the Japanese and means “morning scent”. “Mona” means many beautiful things in different languages: in Arabic, it means “hope”, whereas in Gaelic/Irish it means “noble one”. The pianist is just as special as the names she bears. “Mona Asuka, as a modernist, knows how to keep a cool head. She knows how to use sentiment as just one facet of interpretation instead of wallowing in it over the entire piece,” wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung. She gave her acclaimed début at the Ruhr Piano Festival in 2008, when she was still a teenager. With her heartening personality, she has been a welcome guest several times over the past two years in our podcast “AnTasten,” where she offered glimpses into her life as a professional concert pianist, as well as revealing her other great passion: baking. Mona Asuka’s 13th concert at the Ruhr Piano Festival offers an appealing programme: Beethoven’s Sonata in A Flat Major, Bach’s Italian Concerto, and a homage to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Max Reger’s birth. Reger’s Telemann Variations offer a playful, charming glimpse into his fascinating piano music.