Since I left the Midwest and moved back to Philadelphia a couple of years ago, I haven’t made music with any period instrumentalists here. In early January this year, I debuted my violoncello da spalla, beautifully built by Dmitry Badiarov, in a concert of Bach cantata BWV 41 with the period instruments, but that was […]
It’s been more than a half year since I posted the previous blog entry… I don’t know how I let the time get away like this. I still have much to say, and I still love to write when I have the time that I can somehow justify spending for blogging. One big reason I
Fairly recently, I had an opportunity to play the prelude from Bach’s cello suite VI on the violoncello da spalla to a small crowd in a modest suburban church. The pressure was almost non-existent; I’d played some cello duets there in the past and I was already familiar with this sanctuary. Not many classically trained
Selfish self-deprecation Read More »
She is here. She is here, just sitting right next to me. Next to me, in the cozy flowing air. We exchange neither words nor glances— we are just sharing the moment without being a party of two. Physical proximity is the only thing that seems relevant, and yet, the proximity can’t be more irrelevant.
Looking back at Marlboro Music 2012 Read More »
In March 2005, I organized a Bach ensemble and performed 4 cantatas in a concert in Tokyo. It was a group consists of the supportive and willing members of Bach Collegium Japan and my friends from Geidai (Tokyo University of the Arts)— I can say it was an ideal ensemble in the realistic realm, or
Gamut Bach Ensemble Read More »
This country, the United States of America, has given me numerous opportunities to be what I am today: a decent musician (though I do have some doubt about that). It is a blessing to be able to talk about music and occasionally make some music as part of my job, it really is. I wouldn’t
Being Japanese in America Read More »
My fixation on the cello playing stems from my fascination with basso continuo. It’s not that continuo part is extremely important in baroque music — of course it is — but what fascinates me most is how continuo playing can dictate the outcome of a whole performance. The leader of the continuo group is like
The Compleat Violoncellist Read More »
This blog entry isn’t really about ketchup… it’s about vibrato, the intentionally produced pitch pulsation in a musical sound. Why ketchup then? Here’s the story. Recently I saw an image post on facebook by a musician from Germany. It was a picture of a page from a magazine or something, and the page had a
(Originally posted on February 20, 2011) Fairly recently on facebook, I commented on an online video clip that I watched earlier. It was of an European virtuoso violinist making a recording of Bach violin concertos. In the video this young violinist said: “I love to hear about authentic interpretation and baroque violins; however, we do
(Originally posted on October 30, 2010) This is a dream instrument for any violinists and violists who want to play the cello. And this is the dream instrument for a guy like me who wants to do Bach cantatas that call for this instrument. It is, for me, a quite essential instrument! Sure, you can
Violoncello piccolo da spalla Read More »
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