Kiai Nara / Pianist / Berlin, Germany

The "Listen to Musicians" section is a section where professionals who usually play music on the stage go down the stage and speak in words.This time, we will interview the guest, Kiai Nara, a pianist who has studied abroad in various parts of Europe and the United States and is currently active mainly in Berlin and Tokyo. I would like to talk about the theme of "studying abroad in music" (interview: December 2005).

Kiai Nara
Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts.Graduated from Berlin University of the Arts.Completed the graduate school national musician course chief.Completed the Manhattan School of Music Graduate School Professional Study Course.He is an assistant in the chamber music department of the Manhattan School of Music.He won the top prize in many competitions such as the All Japan Student Music Competition No. 2006 in Japan, the Schnabel Piano Competition, and the Busoni International Competition.Robert Schumann International Music Competition Piano Division, the first Japanese to win the first gold medal.Scholarship students such as German Academic Exchange Service and Agency for Cultural Affairs Artist Overseas Training.Invited from music festivals around the world, including the Eisenach / Waldburg Castle Concert hosted by the German National Broadcasting Station, the Bologna International Piano Festival, and the NHK-FM Masterpiece Recital.Performed with domestic and foreign orchestras such as Berlin Hibiki, Zwickau Hibiki, and New Japan Philharmonic.In addition to his solo activities, he formed a piano trio with Thomas Tim (Principal player of the Berlin Philharmoniker 4nd violin) and Andreas Tim (Principal cellist of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra), and invited them from music festivals around the world.Currently, he has major bases in Japan and Berlin, and is expanding his performance activities all over the world.As an instructor, he also judges public lectures and competitions in various places.An essay is being serialized in the music magazine "Chopin". Since April XNUMX, he has been appointed as a full-time lecturer at the Faculty of Music, Soai University.

— Can you give me a brief biography?
After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, I went to Berlin University of the Arts, Germany as a scholarship student of the German government, and went straight to graduate school.During that time, after taking private lessons at the Spanish Conservatory and Italy, I went to graduate school while practicing at the Manhattan Conservatory for about a year, and my study abroad was just over last year.
— You have been to various countries, but did you want to go to places other than Germany?
Nara At first, I had a vague feeling that I wanted to study abroad in Europe.Then, I went to Germany for the connection with sensei and the scholarship.She became interested in Spanish music while studying German things. Spanish music has a different society and culture from Germany, even though it is in Europe.So I wrote a letter to pianist Mari Kumamoto and she introduced her sensei, and she decided to go to Spain.On the other hand, I was also interested in Italian Catholic religious things, and I went to Italy because I wanted to go to Rome, the sanctuary of Catholicism. I didn't want it, but I thought I was studying in Europe, and I should feel that sensei in the United States has a culture in different countries of the continent for a long time. Because you said that.But in the United States, the tuition fees are high, I wasn't very enthusiastic, and there was just terrorism, but I went for a year to go there because of the scholarship from the university.
— Can you tell us what made you first interested in music?
I have an older sister who is a year away from Nara, but my sister was playing the piano and I had an instrument at home.It was not a music family, but a law family for generations.However, she was interested in musical instruments, and although she didn't often compose herself, she played the piano as a toy while adding lyrics.That may be the first encounter with music.
— You've been playing the piano since you were about two years old.
Nara My mother taught me while playing Bayer together, but beyond that, my mother was completely amateur, so there was a limit.The kindergarten sensei felt that I had a good ear and suggested that I take him to a music class.So when I took me to a music class, I started learning music because I was having fun.
— So did you come in from Classic?
There were Nara Burnham and Thompson, which may be because my sister was learning, but there was an old sheet music and I started it and started working on it from Bayer.
— For example, were you not interested in pop music or jazz when you were little?
Nara Maybe it's not the answer, but I've often heard records like Pink Lady.I wonder if she can sing except for Pink Lady (laughs).
— You have been to various countries, but are there any good points or bad points in playing music?
Nara This is different for each person, so it depends on whether or not there is a connection, and I wouldn't say that strongly, but I was longer in Europe, so Europe was the type that was more compatible than the United States. ..There are people in the world who have a connection with the American people first, and there are people who want to go, so I have no intention of comparing. In short, there is sensei who wants to learn at the right time where he wants to go. I think that's important. I think you should choose a place where you really want to go, rather than because everyone goes.     
— Isn't it better to go to a place that really has a connection?
It goes well with Nara.I think I have to have a desire to go.If you go for the time being, I think the result will be for the time being.
— Is there anything personally good or bad here compared to Spain, Italy or Germany?
Nara I met a relatively good sensei and there wasn't much of a bad point.In that sense, it certainly was a form that complemented every country. Because each has different advantages.The sensei I learned in Germany is a very scholarly and educated type, and the music of piano and classical music is not the only one that grows like a trunk, but it has a religious background and the emotions of the people. I learned that there is a history of the past.In Japan, I tended to do etudes one after another, practice for exams, and just attach myself to something and just solo the piano, but classic music is derived from something. I was convinced that it was the first time I came to Europe.I learned the theory very strongly from Germany, but since Spain and Italy are Latino, I think I learned it in a way that makes up for things that can not be done only by the head, which is more connected to emotions.I felt that America would be so different if the continents were different.It may be a little like Japan, but the history of classics is not so deep compared to Europe, so I thought that America has a different entertainment glitz.
— Is it the most impressive thing that Europe has something that came out of the history and culture of the past, but America has a strong entertainment value?
 
Great success in Germany and Japan
Nara I thought America was rather Americanized. America, of course, appreciates Europe, but we know we're a strong country, so we're not wrong. I believe that. So there is a slight gap, honestly.
— Is there a place where you get a little pulled when you go from Europe to the United States?
Nara I'm not a little like "... Ah".
- rather.
Nara There is a problem of taste, but America prefers to finish with a wow and gorgeous at the end, and Europe prefers to applaud after enjoying the lingering sound even after the performance is over. It's like that.I've been in Europe for a long time, so I just prefer European music.
— Are there any advantages or disadvantages for Japanese people to work abroad?
Nara I personally think that employment is a considerable disadvantage.Why do I have to learn from Japanese people to learn classical music?Europeans are proud, and there are times when I think that's the case.So I think I have to be quite prepared.As for concerts, for better or worse, European customers, whether Japanese or not, come to people who like music, so if you think about your own program and play this Japanese song, you will get together in a business world like that. You don't have to think about it.     
- Is that so.
Nara Hall isn't big, but I'm grateful for European music activities.You can concentrate on your performance activities, and that's why music lovers come to visit us.In Japan, I wonder if customers will come or not, but there is no such mental burden at all.
— That's great.
Nara I want that to be the case, but also in Japan.
- is that so.
Because it's Nara, you can hold a concert without worrying that you're Japanese.
— Even in the performances of performances, there are quite a few songs that are obviously received in Japan, and I think that there are many cases where they are programmed, but in Germany, for example, do contemporary songs attract customers?
Nara That's right.It may not come so many, but it will come to some extent.I consult with the organizer for the time being, but there was no problem for 9% and XNUMX minutes.If there is a problem, is it a little too long or so?
- I like it.The other day, I was talking to a Czech musician, and he said that new songs are difficult in the Czech Republic.That's why Germany is different again.
Nara Maybe it's because I was in Berlin.Berlin will be the first choice for the venue to premiere the opera.In fact, the threshold for music may not be high.
— There are usually people who really like music.It feels like there is music in your life.

Concert in Germany
Nara That's right.I like music and on the contrary, the tickets are not so expensive, so the city is full of music and I think there is something close to music.
— Germans, so-called big musicians, mid-level musicians, and the bottom-most people, aren't they arrogant and want to see me as a musician?
I think that each Nara person comes, but it may be a teacher, but overseas sensei listens to the performance once, so I think that the threshold is not high. Anyway. You may have pride because you are proud of the work you are doing, but you may not have any strange pride.
— It means that the students are very willing to do what they want to do.
Nara That's right.
— What is classic and music for Nara?
Nara I'm not the type that serves as a model.Because it is the type that I thought to quit many times.I didn't really plan to go to music college either.Well, I didn't hate music, but I really hate practicing.Until the third year of high school, I was worried about it and continued, but when I was in the third year of high school, I decided to go on the path of law with the help of my family being a law family for generations. However, I think it's easy because the ability is clearly shown.I was wondering if I could get results relatively soon if I worked hard. So, to commemorate the idea of ​​stopping specializing in music, there is an All Japan Student Music Contest, but I took the commemorative exam. That's right.How hard can I do at the end?Actually, I was aiming for an incentive award for the final round of the East Japan Tournament.It was difficult to get the encouragement prize.Then you can get a certificate, but you don't have to attend the final winners' concert.Then I was taken to the center entrance exam, so if I was aiming for it, I tried too hard and became the number one in the whole country.That's why there was an environment where I couldn't refuse to quit music.
— I think it's from the people around you to do it.
Nara I was happy, but I was a little confused, and that continued for quite a long time.After all, I'm worried no matter which way I go. When something happened, I was always worried about whether I should go to the law way until last year.
— Are you still worried?
Nara I don't know. Music was also attractive to me, but the field of law that I decided at the age of 18 had its own appeal and longing, and I can't say for sure in the future, but I was quite worried. Is a fact. In the field of law, it is clear that "this is the right thing", and the evaluation from the surroundings is certain and easy. Even if you are doing what you want to do, the evaluation is relatively relatively It's not complicated.I think that culture such as music is the first thing that is erased when an economic problem is in society.I wondered if I could force myself to live in it, and I thought about such a realistic thing.If so, I was thinking of studying law in the sense of getting a qualification.But music has been going on until now, and I'm willing to do something like that, so I'm thinking of continuing at my own tempo until I can continue.
— Is music still more attractive now?
Fortunately, Nara music hasn't been cut off yet.I'm thinking of quitting when it runs out.So far, I feel like I'm doing it because I'm happy to do it.The law is also difficult.
— Both are difficult. It feels very strange to ask such a person the next question, but would you please tell me if you have any dreams as a musician in the future?
Nara I was fortunate enough to be taught by a wonderful sensei person.In many ways, the sensei people are highly evaluated and respected as human beings.After all, everyone has a personality unique to their age.I wish I could live a life where I could aim for the better as a human being while studying what wasn't enough at the tempo that suits me. I think it's good.I hope I can leave some of what I have learned to the next generation as needed.
— Of course there is a part of being a performer, but do you really envision the part of being an educator?
Nara education is quite good.I'm not thinking about squeezing with just one performer, and I'm not just sticking to that kind of activity.I love teaching because teaching is also teaching.However, in order to be in a position to teach, I still need my own vessel, so I always seek it.
— Is the experience of teaching as an assistant at the Manhattan School of Music very useful?
Nara That's right.It's very educational in many ways.I learned that it's not easy, and I also learned that it's interesting.
— I think you're doing a lot of performance activities as a professional musician, but the reasons and conditions for becoming a professional, whether mentally or technically, do you think there are such things?
 
Active in the severe professional world
Nara I don't really understand either.I'm wondering why it's been going on.I think there are some phrases like that in the stage of studying various things in life, the stage of making up for various things, and the stage of going professional. It is more important to proceed without stopping at the time of switching. I wonder if.After all, studying abroad and student life is very easy and attractive, and it is especially good to be able to concentrate on studying abroad, but I think that the timing is important to go to the next step. I've had a lot of competitions in the past, but I think it's more important to give up to some extent and then be rubbed by severe performance activities rather than having been in the competition for too long.Personally, if I've been in the competition for 5 or 10 years, the value of the competition I've been taking up to that point will be lost, and I think it's the opposite of taking too much.Even if I do my best if the competition is everything, I think it will be difficult because the next winner will come out again in the same competition in a few years.
— No matter how much you win the competition, it doesn't matter whether it all leads to work or performance activities.
Nara Also, the competition is a delicate song, isn't it?Basically, what is required as a performance activity is how much repertoire there is, how much preparation can be done in a short period of time when there is a talk such as a substitute, and it is important to train sensei like that rather than training. I think it will come.You can prepare carefully for the competition, but I think the problem is that a very human society is waiting for you from that point onward, or what to do from there.
— Last but not least, there are many people who want to actually study abroad in the future. Is it okay if you have any advice for those people?
I think Nara language is essential.There is absolutely no lack or excess of language. You shouldn't look too sweet about language. When I go to a public lesson somewhere next from the first lesson, I think it is better to be able to speak English plus my mother tongue at least.Also, rather than comparing yourself with others, you should evaluate your efforts as human efforts and be able to put up with another lonely task yourself.It doesn't mean that you can make an enemy, but if you rely too much on people, you will inevitably lose half the courage to take a step forward.If I find the way I really want to do to some extent, I think I have to divide it and move forward.In particular, studying abroad has a limited period, so I think it's better to go in the direction of not being afraid.
— What are your thoughts on studying abroad?
Nara I don't mind if you have a relationship. However, if you don't have a strong desire to study abroad, if your surroundings and parents spread the rails of studying abroad, many children will collapse by themselves after studying abroad.
— Do you see people who are actually studying abroad and collapsing locally?
Nara: It may sound like a great way to say it, but the people who went out to study abroad and were called genius girls weren't used to being caught up in the world, and they immediately screamed, "Why is that so? There was.After all, the guards around me were strong.So when I'm in the world, I can't handle it myself, and when I can't seem to do it too much, I'm not really separated from my parents, but I think I have to strengthen myself to do it myself.I have no parents and no teacher, so I can't afford to do it myself. It may be a very severe way of saying it.
— I think that's true. Nara has seen quite a few people who go back to Japan after becoming crumpled locally.
Nara I just need to go back to Japan.Some people can't go home.I didn't feel like abandoning Japan, and I thought I would be active in Japan eventually. I went to university in Japan and thought that it would be for Japan.I think it's important to go abroad with great hope, but I don't think it makes much sense if it just seems to be stubborn.I think that the real study is to work hard and crawl up again after a certain degree of human frustration, so I think it's better to be strict with yourself and be sweet to yourself.
- I'm really thankful to you.
Kiai Nara's official homepage