This year is my 45th anniversary of my debut as a violinist. It was in January when I was 12 years old.
I performed Bach at the NHK Hall with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and played Bach’s “Double Concerto” with Mr. Toshiya Eto. It was of course my first time to meet him.
After this encounter, I became Mr. Eto’s student and remained so for a long time.
I was invited many times to perform on the TV show “Orchestral Concert” which was so popular in those days and Mr. Naozumi Yamamoto, the host of the show, kindly watched over me, inviting me to various concerts. That was how my concert activities started.
My life on stage really did have ups and downs.
Once I felt the sense of failure with my violin, and wondered how I should live my life, suffered feeling of despair as there were times when I thought I was never able to achieve anything though making so much effort. I even ran away from home after fighting with my parents, also my romances and breaking my hearts may have done some good for my violin, after all.
I finally got to the stage in my life that I can look back to those days calmly. I needed time for that.
And now, I can say that I am truly in love with the violin.
My love is getting stronger after meeting my partner “Duranty” and I am totally addicted to my violin.
Originally, I used to think that I never needed to look back even if I die now, as I always tried to live each day to the fullest.
However, now I really would like to keep on playing my violin for as long as I can. I would like to immerse myself into it, because I am still far from the ideal image of a violinist that I dream of. Every day, I make efforts to get closer to that image.
I study the best methods of practicing, to be able to perform in an ideal way.
I consider performers are the same as athletes, and need to gain physical strength. I go swimming, training in the gym, pressurizing muscle trainings, and take care of what I eat, all for the sake of performing for as long as I can. I make researches by reading books written by athletes and always go to medical checkups.
Now I am coming to realize that it must be hard to keep performing on stage as a soloist when getting older. I now understand vaguely that it is something that only gets to you when you experience it yourself.
Still, I would like to stay as a violinist until I die. This is my true feelings that I have upon my 45th Anniversary Year.
I will be giving the unaccompanied violin concerts that I have been doing in my previous anniversary years and will perform Ysaye’s Complete Unaccompanied Sonatas in March in Yokohama and Tokyo, and the Bach’s Sonatas & Partitas in Yokohama, Osaka and Tokyo during November to December. Also planning Concerto recitals (June in Tokyo, July in Osaka).
I do hope you could come to one of them to hear me!