[Chamber Music School in Tokyo 2024] Online course for students was held.

On February 2th, music writer and translator Tatsuo Shirasawa held an online lecture for the nine students who will be participating in the Chamber Music School in Tokyo 12. This was the first time they met face to face. The lecture started with a self-introduction session, where the students talked about their reasons for participating in the Chamber Music School and their enthusiasm. After that, the lecture moved on to the main topic, and from Shirasawa's unique perspective as a specialist in Western art history, he delivered a very interesting lecture on the theme of "Era, Environment, and People - Things other than 'Music' that Shape the Essence of a Work," linking Western art history and cultural reception history with music.

The lecture begins with a perspective that is rarely seen by performers: "How do painters view and handle colored pencils?"
"To express a two-dimensional picture in three dimensions, artists look at the pencils as a single color, rather than at the tips (points) of the pencils, and then choose a color. Looking at the pencils as three-dimensional objects, rather than as points, and thinking about the color divisions, is what learning about the background is all about. If we apply this to music,

"Europeans established the method of writing music as a way to communicate music, but simply looking at the score and playing the sound is like looking at the dots on the tips of colored pencils, and does not convey the whole picture to us. Music scores are like letters, and by thinking about what events occurred at the time and how people with different languages, lifestyles, and cultures than our own experienced them in a realistic way and created the work, and by increasing the resolution, the dots can be connected to form lines, and the whole picture can be grasped." Based on this perspective, the program will delve deeper into the historical background of the time, sometimes using art works created in the same era as examples to look at differences in style.

His talk about Brahms did not just focus on music, but also included an easy-to-understand explanation of the social background of the era in which he lived (what position Germany held as a country, and how relations with other countries, wars, and social changes affected the citizens). His speech was so clear that it was as if he was able to picture the scene at the time in his mind.

He then talked about how classical music has changed over time, what perspectives are important to understand Brahms' work, how important it is to look at sheet music, and so on, from every angle, and before we knew it, over an hour had passed. We still had more to learn (and probably more to talk about for Mr. Shirasawa too), and we were able to spend a very meaningful time with him.

One of the most memorable points in the lecture was that "The purpose of conveying music that was born in an environment completely different from ours today to the audience while unraveling the way it was at the time is not to analyze or verify the past. It is important to think about how to make the properly interpreted music meaningful for the future, and it is something we do for the future." Through various examples, he repeatedly conveyed that the music played through the sheet music in front of us, a letter from the composer, has various social backgrounds separate from technique and musicality, and that it is by connecting these points that it becomes a three-dimensional piece of music. It was a very interesting lecture that reminded me that it is important to understand what the composer wanted to convey in the sheet music, deepen your knowledge, and then play it.

The students also offered a variety of impressions, such as, "I felt that I could enjoy music more by not only perceiving it intuitively, but also by linking it to knowledge and the historical background. I thought that the hints for performing were to be found away from the song, but today's lecture allowed me to learn from a new perspective that I think I can use in the future." Artistic Director and Head of the School, Oyama Heiichiro, summed up the session by saying, "If you all grow into re-enactors who can feel the atmosphere of a period through the works and composers, I think you will be able to live truly wonderful lives."

The knowledge gained through this lecture, which will stimulate intellectual curiosity, and the results of prior learning will no doubt be of use and will be expressed in the music.

What is Music Dialogue Chamber Music School?

This is a place where young musicians can apply to learn chamber music. It is held once a year in both Kyoto and Tokyo.
You will learn how to compose music, which is the foundation of your career as a performer, how to read sheet music, the basics of ensemble playing, and performance techniques while performing with veterans.
This time in Tokyo, nine diverse students, including high school students, performing artists, and people from overseas, will be working on three pieces by Brahms.

Chamber Music Academy in Tokyo 2024
Public rehearsal February 2rd (Fri) / 23th (Sat) / 24th (Sun) 25:10~00:19 @ Former Sonoda Takahiro Residence
Final Concert February 2th (Mon) 26:19 start @ Nakameguro GT Plaza Hall
Playing Pieces/Performers　
Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
Ryusei Horiuchi (piano), Yasushi Mizuno (violin), Anri Hasumi (violin), Heichiro Oyama (viola), Saki Okada (cello)
Brahms String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111
Honoka Kikukawa (violin), Seira Jono (violin), Moeko Kikuta (viola), Heiichiro Oyama (viola), Fumie Kato (cello)
Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Yukiko Furumi (piano), Choi Jung Min (violin), Heiichiro Oyama (viola), Fumie Kato (cello)