Kyoko Hashimoto News
Recording news
The recording of Kyoko Hashimoto's next solo CD has been rescheduled yet again, this time - hopefully the last - for summer 2021. The disc will provide both the precious completion of a project started some years ago and a world premiere recording.
In the meantime, those impatient to extend their Hashimoto discography can do so with the new CD of the complete Brahms violin sonatas with Takashi Kawaguchi, a young prize-winning player.
Takashi, a former concertmaster with the Toho Gahuen Orchestra, achieved highest ranking in the Japan Classical Music Competition, was awarded first prize in the Student Music Concours of Japan, the Tzusuki Gakuen music prize, the Utsuka and Togi prizes and the NHK prize.
The recording of Kyoko Hashimoto's next solo CD has been rescheduled yet again, this time - hopefully the last - for summer 2021. The disc will provide both the precious completion of a project started some years ago and a world premiere recording.
In the meantime, those impatient to extend their Hashimoto discography can do so with the new CD of the complete Brahms violin sonatas with Takashi Kawaguchi, a young prize-winning player.
Takashi, a former concertmaster with the Toho Gahuen Orchestra, achieved highest ranking in the Japan Classical Music Competition, was awarded first prize in the Student Music Concours of Japan, the Tzusuki Gakuen music prize, the Utsuka and Togi prizes and the NHK prize.
Online Beethoven concerts from Montréal
Kyoko Hashimoto organised a series of concerts livestreamed from Pollack Hall, Montreal to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth: the ten violin sonatas preceded by the Archduke trio. Kyoko herself played in two of the concerts, those with the opus 12 and 30 sonatas. The video recordings are still available on youtube. That with the op. 30 sonatas is really not to be missed and provoked comments such as "Best ever!!", "EXCELLENT!!!!!!" or our favourite "Sounds hot fire." on the day. Click on the image to go to the recording of the concert.
The op. 12 are available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsNUx8lBG8U&t=1s
Kyoko Hashimoto organised a series of concerts livestreamed from Pollack Hall, Montreal to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth: the ten violin sonatas preceded by the Archduke trio. Kyoko herself played in two of the concerts, those with the opus 12 and 30 sonatas. The video recordings are still available on youtube. That with the op. 30 sonatas is really not to be missed and provoked comments such as "Best ever!!", "EXCELLENT!!!!!!" or our favourite "Sounds hot fire." on the day. Click on the image to go to the recording of the concert.
The op. 12 are available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsNUx8lBG8U&t=1s
An important re-issue
One of the most important of Kyoko Hashimoto's collaborative recordings is of the substantial violin sonata of Rudi Martinus van Dijk. Kyoko gave the world premiere of this sonata with Anthony Marwood (for whom it was written) in a concert at St. George's Bristol in March 1995 (later broadcast on BBC Radio 3). The composer was present and after hearing their interpretation decided to reverse the order of the middle movements of the four movement work. The two artists made a superb recording of this final version for Emergo Classics, long unavailable. This has now been reissued as the first item on a 2 CD set of the composer's works alongside the piano trio with the Florestan Trio, the string sextet played by the Raphael Ensemble and the piano concerto with Geoffrey Douglas Madge as soloist. van Dijk's final opus, Kreiten's Passion, completed as he battled cancer, occupies the whole of disc 2.
One of the most important of Kyoko Hashimoto's collaborative recordings is of the substantial violin sonata of Rudi Martinus van Dijk. Kyoko gave the world premiere of this sonata with Anthony Marwood (for whom it was written) in a concert at St. George's Bristol in March 1995 (later broadcast on BBC Radio 3). The composer was present and after hearing their interpretation decided to reverse the order of the middle movements of the four movement work. The two artists made a superb recording of this final version for Emergo Classics, long unavailable. This has now been reissued as the first item on a 2 CD set of the composer's works alongside the piano trio with the Florestan Trio, the string sextet played by the Raphael Ensemble and the piano concerto with Geoffrey Douglas Madge as soloist. van Dijk's final opus, Kreiten's Passion, completed as he battled cancer, occupies the whole of disc 2.
Kyoko Hashimoto was in Kirchberg an der Jagst, Germany in August for IMWAF 2018
Take a look at the video on the IMWAF website to get an idea of the wonderful experience the students had, not to mention the audiences at the concerts in the beautiful Schloss Kirchberg recital room.
< here the three professors in 2016,
Alexander Janiczek, Kyoko and Rafael Rosenfeld are seen rehearsing the finale of the Schumann piano quartet in Eb, op. 47.
Critic's Choice in 'Record Geijutsu' Kyoko Hashimoto's new Mozart CD is Critic's Choice in the August issue of 'Record Geijustsu', Japan's most authoritative record review magazine. According to one of the reviewers, her playing is reminiscent of the great masters of the past. |
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New CD released
Kyoko Hashimoto's new CD is out
'Notes from the Shadows' -
solo piano music of Mozart linked by the use of minor tonalities
Nami Records WWCC - 7874
extracts of the glowing reviews in 'Record Geijutsu' are in the discography page
Details of the International Music Workshop And Festival 2018 have been announced:
joining Kyoko Hashimoto at Kirchberg an der Jagst, Germany from 6th to 19th August will be
Helge Slaatto - violin professor at the Hochschule Münster, who studied with Sandor Végh, and
Martti Rousi - cello professor at the Sibelius Academy, a former student of Janos Starker at Bloomington,
prizewinner at the Tchaikovsky competition, Moscow and artistic director of the Turku music festival.
Details of the International Music Workshop And Festival 2018 have been announced:
joining Kyoko Hashimoto at Kirchberg an der Jagst, Germany from 6th to 19th August will be
Helge Slaatto - violin professor at the Hochschule Münster, who studied with Sandor Végh, and
Martti Rousi - cello professor at the Sibelius Academy, a former student of Janos Starker at Bloomington,
prizewinner at the Tchaikovsky competition, Moscow and artistic director of the Turku music festival.
Marina Chiche
Pre-Christmas presence in Europe - and a Finnish start to the New Year
Following masterclasses and the first performance of the Mozart - Schoenberg programme 'Shadows of Vienna' in Alberta, Canada, Kyoko flew to Zürich for the first of two Europan tours:
from 11 to 13 December she was in residence at the Hochschule fur Musik in Trossingen, Germany for masterclasses and on the 13th was to give a concert with the French violinist Marina Chiche. Marina had been wanting to perform with Kyoko for years, ever since she first encountered her
in Taiwan, but unfortunately was sick and so Kyoko gave a solo recital instead.
Then it was off to Evian-les-Bains, France for a recital and to Switzerland for masterclasses at the Haute Ecole de Musique of Geneva before the flight back to Montreal.
Following masterclasses and the first performance of the Mozart - Schoenberg programme 'Shadows of Vienna' in Alberta, Canada, Kyoko flew to Zürich for the first of two Europan tours:
from 11 to 13 December she was in residence at the Hochschule fur Musik in Trossingen, Germany for masterclasses and on the 13th was to give a concert with the French violinist Marina Chiche. Marina had been wanting to perform with Kyoko for years, ever since she first encountered her
in Taiwan, but unfortunately was sick and so Kyoko gave a solo recital instead.
Then it was off to Evian-les-Bains, France for a recital and to Switzerland for masterclasses at the Haute Ecole de Musique of Geneva before the flight back to Montreal.
In January it was the prestigious Sibelius Academy of Helsinki that welcomed Kyoko for a week's residence - masterclasses and performances were on the menu, including a chamber concert with a strikingly rich programme: works by Schumann, Mozart, Schubert, Hindemith and Bridge.
Then a stopover in London on the way home for three stunning sets of masterclasses: at the Royal College of Music on the 23rd, the Guildhall School on the 26th and at the Centre for Young Musicians the following day, before heading for Heathrow and the flight home.
Then a stopover in London on the way home for three stunning sets of masterclasses: at the Royal College of Music on the 23rd, the Guildhall School on the 26th and at the Centre for Young Musicians the following day, before heading for Heathrow and the flight home.
Kyoko Hashimoto, conductor
In their concert in Tokyo on June 30th, Kyoko directed the Ensemble Nizi as well as playing the solo piano part in Mendelssohn's early double concerto for violin and piano (many years after playing it in Japan with Anthony Marwood). She was also responsible for the important keyboard part in the 5th Brandenburg concerto.
In comparison, 'merely' directing Spring and Summer from Vivaldi's 'The Seasons' should have been quite relaxing. The concert sounds to have been amazing: see IAR Latest News.
In their concert in Tokyo on June 30th, Kyoko directed the Ensemble Nizi as well as playing the solo piano part in Mendelssohn's early double concerto for violin and piano (many years after playing it in Japan with Anthony Marwood). She was also responsible for the important keyboard part in the 5th Brandenburg concerto.
In comparison, 'merely' directing Spring and Summer from Vivaldi's 'The Seasons' should have been quite relaxing. The concert sounds to have been amazing: see IAR Latest News.
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New CD recorded
Kyoko Hashimoto recorded her new, all-Mozart CD in the tranquil surroundings of Sagamiko Lake, Kanagawa, Japan on June 22nd. The disc will mark a return to a Bösendorfer (now 'Japanese' after all, being owned by Yamaha). Kyoko's only comment so far is "we'll see", but on the basis of her recent public performances we expect it to be one of the most important recordings of solo Mozart for many years. photo: Kyoko Hashimoto > |
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A foretaste of Kyoko's next CD and a fistful of world premieres in Montreal
On 27th March in Montreal's Pollack Hall Kyoko Hashimoto gave first performances of solo piano works by Noa Haran, Danniel Ribeiro, Doyoon Kim, Chris Goddard and James Rubino between six of the Mozart works which will feature on her next CD.
post-concert photo session
New Year : New Duo in 2016
Kyoko Hashimoto spent the first days of 2016 in Budapest, rehearsing with the outstanding young cellist Ditta Rohmann, on the last leg of a brief European tour that had included masterclasses in Geneva, a recital in Tavira, Portugal and more masterclasses in Lisbon. The pair gave truly mesmerising accounts of two F major sonatas, Beethoven's op.17 (for cello or horn) and the Richard Strauss cello sonata, at a concert on the 4th of January. It was clear to both (and to the audience!) that this should not be the last time they played together.
New Year : Old Friends
Four weeks later it was an old playing partner, Daniel Phillips, with whom Kyoko shared the platform at Montreal's Pollack Hall. Mr. Phillips is now a famous chamber player in the States and Professor of violin at Queens College, but the two met when 'Danny' was a favourite pupil of Sandor Végh's at Prussia Cove, where Kyoko both played for Végh's classes and was invited by him to participate in the autumn Open Chamber Music programme every year from the first time Végh heard her until his death. On February 8th they played the first violin sonata of Bartók, where their interpretation gave the audience a direct connection through Végh back to the composer himself.
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Kyoko's previous CD: La Danse des B...
praise from the reviewers in Japan: "a disc overflowing with vitality" "holds one spellbound" "exceptional" "quite marvellous" click on the CD cover to read more 
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and on bbc radio 3 in the UK: The three Blumenfeld Mazurkas from Kyoko's CD were played by Rob Cowan on BBC Radio 3 on the 22nd June - "an excellent pianist whom we hear too little of.... few pianists around have Kyoko's command of keyboard colour. ....I think this playing will impress you." La danse des B... BACH: Partita N° 2 in C minor, BWV 826 BEETHOVEN: 12 Variations on a Russian Dance, WoO 71 BRAHMS: Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39 BLUMENFELD: 3 Mazurkas, Op. 35 BARTOK: Dance Suite NAMI RECORDS WWCC-7747 |