On the eve of the opening of the 2024 ARK Classics Festival at Suntory Hall, the following article was published by Japan's BAILA magazine @baila_Magazine and accessed at these links:
辻井伸行×三浦文彰対談
Nobuyuki Tsujii x Fumiaki Miura Dialogue
"I want you to come to the concert and enjoy the immersive experience" [Would you like to listen to classical music?]
Miura was born into a musical family, and Tsujii's talent blossomed within 8 months
--What made you two start playing instruments? We asked about your passion and motivation for being involved in classical music as musicians.
Miura: In my case, both of my parents are violinists, so I naturally started playing the violin at the age of three as one of my lessons. When I was six, I started studying under my parents' teacher, Tokunaga Tsuguo, and that was the turning point for me to become a musician. I also played baseball, and my teacher told me that I should also play baseball, so I spent my student life playing the violin, baseball, studying, and playing. The time I spent with the violin is the time I can concentrate the most. Thanks to my continued violin playing, I feel like the violin has led me to various encounters and experiences in life. In particular, famous instruments have an aura that has been passed down by successive players, and they have a human touch, or rather, they are like people. Because of this, I feel like the violin is my partner.
Tsujii: Unlike Mr. Miura, neither of my parents played music. However, when I was eight months old, my mother played various CDs, and I loved Chopin's "Heroic Polonaise." When I played a version by a Russian pianist named Bunin, I would happily tap his feet to the rhythm. I didn't react to the same song played by other pianists, so my parents thought that I had the ability to distinguish between musicians. I started playing the piano when I was two years old, when my parents bought me a toy piano. When I was about four or five years old, I had the opportunity to play the piano at a shopping center in a foreign country. There, everyone listened to my performance and clapped happily, and talked to me, and I realized for the first time that my performance made people so happy. Since then, when I was still little, I just looked forward to playing on stage, and I practiced hard for that. Even after becoming a professional, there are times when practicing is difficult, but the excitement of having many people listen to my performance on stage is what motivates me.
"A master violin has an aura about it, a human touch, and it's like a partner." (Miura)
"The joy of performing on stage is what drives me. The piano is something that allows me to express myself." (Tsujii)
Communicating through sounds rather than words. The ideal partner for playing naturally
©N.Ikegam
I met Miura and Tsujii at the "Ultimate Concerto Concert" in 2016. We were both soloists for different concertos, but we played a duo as an encore, and since then, we have worked together for a long time, including on the album for the NHK historical drama "Sanada Maru" and as artistic leaders of Suntory Hall ARK Classics. Tsujii:
Themusic was really wonderful from the first time we met, and he had amazing concentration. We had a meal together after the performance where we first met, and like me, he loves to eat and drink, and we got along well from the first time we talked. For me, he was a fellow musician and a friend with whom I could talk about all sorts of things in private, and it was a really good meeting.
Miura: I'm glad you said that. I had been listening to Tsujii's performances before we met, but when I actually met him, he had a bright personality and made everyone happy. That's what really attracted me to him.
Tsujii:When we play together, we can play naturally with each other. It's fun to talk to each other with sounds rather than words, and to harmonize with each other.
Miura: It's ideal. For some reason, Tsujii and I get along well in terms of wanting this kind of sound right now, or wanting the flow of a certain part to go in a certain way.
ARK Classics is all about relaxing and having fun
--This year marks the seventh year for Suntory Hall ARK Classics, for which the two of you serve as artistic leaders. It is a very popular opening event for the ARK Hills Music Week, a "town music festival" that brings music to the area around ARK Hills, with Suntory Hall at its center. During the festival, many concerts will be held at ARK Hills, nearby art museums, restaurants, embassies, and other facilities.
MiuraAt Suntory Hall ARK Classics, which will be held from September 27th to October 1st this year, we will hold 11 performances over five days in the Large Hall and Blue Rose (small hall), with us and our world-renowned musician friends. There will also be a piano solo concert by Tsujii-kun, a duo with Tsujii-kun and me, and we plan to deliver a variety of programs, including a variety of chamber music, concertos, and symphonies.
Tsujii Tomake it easy for first-time visitors to enjoy, live viewing of all performances will be available for free on the large screen at ARK Karajan Square outside Suntory Hall, and there will also be a short piano live performance there. Last year, I also listened to other people's performances while drinking and eating at Karajan Square between performances. Children listened to music while playing, and adults listened while eating. Of course it's nice to listen in the hall, but if it's your first time and you're not sure what to do, you can listen to it as background music while relaxing outside and eating, so I think it's nice that there are various ways to enjoy it.
Miura Thisyear marks the seventh year, but it really went by in a flash. I think Suntory Hall is the best hall in Japan, and we all have a wonderful time every year in this luxurious space, so I hope that we can continue this music festival for a long time and send music from the center of Tokyo to the world. I also feel like it's still the beginning.
Tsujii Miura-san has been very active not only as a violinist but also as a conductor recently. I've been watching him for years, and I'm really happy to see him growing more and more. At ARK Classics, we also created an orchestra together. I'm able to take on various challenges, and playing with young people is one of the things I look forward to.
Miura Originall, we started as a chamber orchestra with a smaller composition than a normal orchestra under the name "ARK Sinfonietta", but as the repertoire expanded, the composition became larger, and now the name has changed to "ARK Philharmonic", which represents a full orchestra. My goal is to make both ARK Classics and ARK Philharmonic even bigger. Conducting is very difficult for me, and it will take me a long time, but I continue to learn because I believe it will help my music. Of course, violin solo activities are at my core, but I would also like to challenge myself to perform a program where I play and conduct in the first half and conduct in the second half.
Tsujii Thereare so many piano pieces that it's impossible to play them all in a lifetime, but I would like to increase my repertoire and become a performer who can be more active on the world stage. In addition to ARK Classics, I also participate in the "Mt. Fuji Kawaguchiko Piano Festival", where I go to local elementary schools and teach and experience with children how much fun music is, so I would like to continue my activities to convey the greatness of music to such children. Let's work hard together to spread the appeal of
Miura classical music to as many people as possible!
"Please feel free to come and listen to live classical music." (Miura)
"You can also enjoy live viewing of Suntory Hall ARK Classics outside the hall." (Tsujii)
Miura's music picks
Favorite classics music album
Mozart: Symphony No. 41
"To me, this is the perfect piece" (Miura). Leonard Bernstein & Vienna Philharmonic "Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter", No. 35 "Haffner"" (Universal Music)
Classical music to listen to while waking up
Bach: Partita No. 3 for solo violin
"This is the piece that I practice every morning as a routine, along with the scales" (Miura). Gidon Kremer "JS Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin" (Universal Music)
Classical music while you sleep
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21
"I want to sleep like a baby while listening to a slow movement like the second movement" (Miura). Andras Schiff "Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 & No. 21" (Universal Music)
Favorite non-classical Music
Yutaka Ozaki: Being me,
"I don't listen to much music other than classical music, but I like Yutaka Ozaki. I find Showa era music very pleasant to listen to." (Miura) Yutaka Ozaki "Map of Seventeen" (Sony Music Labels)
Recommended performance
Frank: Violin Sonata
"This is the first piece I performed with Tsujii. Please listen to the interplay between the piano and the violin" (Miura). "Frank: Violin Sonata / Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1" (avex-CLASSICS)
Tsujii's Music Picks
Favorite classics music album
Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu
"When I was 10 years old, I really wanted to play this piece, so I copied it by ear from a CD and played it, surprising my teacher." (Mr. Tsujii) Stanislav Bunin "Chopin: Complete Impromptus and More" (Universal Music)
Classical music to listen to while waking up
Debussy: Two Arabesques
"When I was four years old, I heard someone else playing this piece at a recital and thought, 'This is a refreshing and beautiful piece,' so I started practicing it myself." (Mr. Tsujii) "Debussy: Arabesque No. 1/No. 2/Suite 'Children's Corner' and others" (Universal Music)
Classical music while you sleep
Chopin: Nocturne No. 20
"I chose a slow piece because it's music for the night. It's a piece I often play as an encore" (Mr. Tsujii). Maria Joao Pires "Chopin: Complete Nocturnes (SHM-CD)" (Universal Music)
[editor's note: This is amazing -- i happen to go to sleep listening to this very same album!]
Favorite non-classical Music
"I don't go to karaoke much these days, but I used to go to karaoke. I sang this song and 'Matsuken Samba'" (Tsujii). Yosui Inoue "Handsome Boy" (FOR LIFE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT)