Yuka Tsuboi / Violin / Zakhar Bron Assistant, Züricher Hochschule der Künste / Zurich, Switzerland

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, Yuka Tsuboi, a violinist who is active as an assistant, lecturer and performer of the world-famous teacher Zakhar Bron at the Zurich National Academy of Music in Switzerland. I would like to talk about the theme of "Violin learned in Europe".
(Interview: March 2005)

Yuka Tsuboi
Born in Tokyo. Started playing the violin at the age of four. At the age of 14, studied abroad at Yehudi Menuhin School in England.Recognized by Menuhin, he co-starred with Philharmonia Hungaryka, conducted by Menuhin, and Mozart Concerto No. XNUMX.Appeared in Menuhin's XNUMXth Anniversary Concert and a concert at Wigmore Hall.He belongs to the charity foundation established by Menuhin and conducts concert activities at hospitals and facilities.In addition, concerts will be held in Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Israel, Austria, Singapore, etc.Spain's Sarasate International Violin Competition XNUMXnd Place, Zurich, Kivanis Concours Violin Category XNUMXst Place, Padova International Music Competition Solo Category, Chamber Music Category Winner, Yamaha Scholarship, Meister Scholarship Award, etc. Awarded.After working at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he is currently studying and assisting the world-famous teacher Zakhar Bron at the National Conservatory of Music in Zurich, Switzerland.He also formed the string quartet GALATEA QUARTET and will perform in various parts of Europe.Teaches at the Vienna Master Class and the Mozartium Summer Academy.He is currently the best biolist and at the same time an educator who nurtures younger generations.

Tsuboi At first, you went to a music class for children at Toho Gakuen.Then I went to a place called Menuhin School in England when I was 14 years old.It was a boarding music school.I didn't graduate after that, but I went to the Royal Academy of Music for three years.And now I am an assistant to Zakhar Bron sensei at the National Conservatory of Music in Zurich.

Tsuboi: I was in Japan when I graduated from elementary school, but after that my father was transferred to Singapore.So I went to Singapore for two years from junior high school.The elementary school was Toho, and after that I was planning to go back to junior high school and take the music department of Toho's high school, but I was quite interested in foreign countries (laughs).

Tsuboi Yes.I asked a lot of acquaintances and went there because there is a boarding music school (* Note: Menuhin school) in England.

Tsuboi That's right.I said I want to go.

Tsuboi: I was planning to take the music department of Toho's high school, so I came back to Japan for a summer class.At that time, I asked sensei, who was with me a long time ago, but he told me that it was a lot different from when I was in Japan and I don't need to come back anymore (laughs).I had already told you that I was studying abroad, but I knew sensei about the school, so I decided to go to England.So when my mother asked a friend who lives in Germany and wrote a letter, she got a reply from the school asking if she would come to the audition, and I went to England right away.

Tsuboi That's right.The English school was a dormitory, and you always shared a room.I used to live with girls of the same generation, and because of that child's influence, I was listening to radio and nowadays music, but since classical music has become natural since I was little, I'm more interested in that kind of thing. there was.Of course, I enjoyed listening to pop music, but I wasn't interested in it.

Tsuboi That's right.My mother was doing musicology and playing the piano, so when I was little I played with her.

Tsuboi That's right.That may be the case.My family likes to listen to music.

Tsuboi Menuhin School is a boarding school, and everyone lives together.Among them, there are regular classes, and institutions such as universities were also doing it, but it's a very dense study abroad life, because everyone is always there together.

Tsuboi That's right.So usually, when you study abroad, you live somewhere and go to university.It's a boarding house, so it's really dense, and it feels like you're always in touch with music.I think it was really good at the beginning.My friends are also playing music.

Tsuboi: That's right.

Tsuboi I went to the Royal Academy of Music in London to follow sensei.Other than that, I don't have much good memories there (laughs).Menuhin is really in the countryside.It's just 3 or 40 minutes by train from London.It's really a countryside, far from that station.The Royal Academy of Music was in the middle of the city, close to going to concerts, going to museums and doing anything.In that sense, I think it was a culturally good environment, but I think I lived a normal music college life there.

Tsuboi When I went to school, there were about 50 students in total. From 8 to 18 years old.There were about 3 more Japanese people.

Tsuboi: It was like that your parents learned about this school through someone.

Tsuboi: That's not the case, but it was a time when I was wondering whether I would stay in the UK or go to another country as my study abroad period became longer.In the UK, you can apply for a work permit after about 10 years. After 5 or 6 years, I was still in the UK, and I was worried about sensei, so I wanted to make it a little different.So it was a time when I was wondering whether to look for it in England or somewhere else.

Tsuboi I felt that I met sensei that I wanted to learn when I went to a summer class in Germany once.I went there because he would have a new class at the Zurich Conservatory, so I was wondering if he would come.I was supposed to graduate from the Royal Academy of Music in another year (laughs).I went there for three years, but in the end I ignored it (laughs).

Tsuboi That's right.But I wanted to graduate from Zurich.You probably didn't like the royal family very much.So I got a teacher qualification and am still in Zurich.I finally got a soloist diploma in Zurich last September.Before that, my only educational background was elementary school graduates (laughs).

Tsuboi: At the time I met at Menuhin School, I thought it was a good sensei.I was talking about the great sensei that I had taken care of before when I went to the royal family, so I thought I should go to the summer class.

After all it is important to identify Tsuboi sensei.It seems that the sensei I learned in Zurich was originally taught in Munich.I was thinking of going to Munich if I really liked it and told me, but it happened that sensei went to Zurich.It's best to get acquainted with sensei through summer classes and rely on your friends to find out what kind of people there are.

Tsuboi There is a town called Zurich and the neighboring town of Wintertur.The school there does a project together in an orchestra.There are about 20 Japanese people in Zurich.There are quite a few people who don't live in Zurich, and some people come from other countries from time to time, and I'm not sure about Wintertour, but I think there are nearly 20 people.

Tsuboi: There are various events in Nakatoshi, so that's a good point.

Tsuboi Of course, there are so many concerts in Vienna and other places, and it seems like a dream to come into contact with such things and engage in music activities in places where musicians have been active for generations.However, when studying abroad, it was important for me to start music activities from there about good sensei.In that sense, Austria and Germany are of course attractive, but I think it's important to be in a musically dense environment, regardless of country or city.

Tsuboi playing
Tsuboi: That's back to the original story, but I was with sensei who wanted to study in Switzerland, but she suddenly got sick a year later.That made all nine students who were with her feel lost on the road.So while I was thinking about going to Vienna or going to another country, the very famous now sensei Zakhar Bron sensei came to Zurich.

Tsuboi Yes.He had been teaching at the Conservatory of Music in Cairn and Madrid for a long time, but he ended up coming to Switzerland with a friend's introduction.I've been to Menuhin's school until now, and my friends were attached to sensei, so of course I was listening to the story of sensei.However, since it is a famous sensei, I was quite worried about it.I was worried about what would happen in the Russian way.However, when I actually followed it, it wasn't really the basics, but it was really good because it was sensei who was extremely enthusiastic about how to teach without breaking the prototype of music.

Tsuboi That's the way of teaching, basically.It was a way of teaching how to convey the essence of music.Of course, there was a little aspect of imposing my theory (laughs).However, it was in the form of being able to choose it myself, so I did what sensei said was good, and I didn't dare to think that it wasn't necessary.

Tsuboi That's right. Because sensei is also a person who has visited Japan over and over again, and he is quite fluent in Japanese.It feels like a discussion while having a lot of fun.So now I'm an assistant to sensei.

Tsuboi I play string quartets quite actively, and I do it quite often with Swiss people.

Tsuboi Well, in the case of my quartet, I took the competition immediately after the formation.If you win a prize in a competition that gives you such an opportunity, you will be contacted quite a bit.Also, it will appear in the newspaper, so you can see it.However, there are quite a lot of people.Maybe it's about people (laughs).

Tsuboi If you like classical music, you might ask me to play classical music at weddings and parties.The cello person was a companion doing such a job.That was extended, and I got in touch with concerts and made contracts.I think there are quite a lot of people in Switzerland.

Tsuboi Japanese people are unlikely to be late for the time.Everyone practices hard, so sometimes I trust that I don't play strange things.Even if it's not about playing, Japanese people are generally trusted in terms of seriousness.

Tsuboi Swiss people come on time.Swiss are really neat in that respect.But other races (laughs)

Tsuboi That's right.It's amazing.It depends on the person (laughs).

Tsuboi: I've been accustomed to classical music since I was little, but I really like the feeling that classical music was created by people, and I'm really grateful that I met them.

Tsuboi I think it was very good because I was asked by the school for various things and I was allowed to do various things.In the UK, I haven't done that much at university.I did everything at Menuhin School, but I think there are people in that respect as well.

Tsuboi: I got to know each other through people and started from there.

Tsuboi I started teaching as a sensei assistant at school, and surprisingly I really like it.Now that I'm an assistant, I help when I don't have sensei.I'm really happy that I can help various people, so I would like to improve this part myself in the future.No matter where I am in the future, I would like to continue teaching at universities as I do now.

Tsuboi Both.But I'm really interested in teaching.You went to two summer classes with sensei, didn't you?I was very interested in it, and it was good to get to know various people.

Tsuboi That's right.But to get to know people, you also need language skills.When I first came to Switzerland, I didn't know many people.

Tsuboi Yes.You're getting used to it and gaining trust.It's a relationship of trust.

Tsuboi That's right.It's been at least two years.

Tsuboi Swiss people are the same as British people, but at first they don't really trust them.Looking at it from a distance, I think it's going to be like, oh, he's okay.I guess I'm trying that way.perhaps.I think Latin people are a little more friendly from the beginning, but German people are looking a little further away.

Tsuboi: It's the original story overseas, but it's about getting to know people.If you want to expand your network in other ways, don't be afraid of a truly international environment.To get to know various people, you have to participate in various projects, try various things that are troublesome, make friends, and expand the circle.I think that is also important.

Tsuboi: You don't have to call your phone number, but you're really good at expanding the possibilities to various places.But I think it's amazing to see that there are people who are not pushing it, but who are doing it properly.Well, if you do too much ... but (laughs).But I think it's interesting.

Tsuboi That's right.Of course it is also important to be there.I think there are many things that can happen on the spot, but if you don't work on things like competitions and gatherings, you won't come.They may come, but it's better to talk to various people and be diligent.

Tsuboi Anyway, I think it's best to study abroad with a firm grasp of yourself.Even if you make a lot of mistakes, you won't regret it if you think it's your choice.When you've done something, you'll feel like you've grown up if you think you've done it yourself.Even if you rely on your friends when you study abroad, you have to do it yourself, so I think it's most important to do it yourself.

Tsuboi That's right.The children over there ask me a lot of questions, and in that sense, I think they have different personalities.However, I think that the good points of Japanese people are good even if they are forced to make it positive.That kind of thing may be liked by foreigners.I think it's better to take good care of such things.But I can't do anything with that alone.The modest part should be modest, and you should still do it yourself.

There is a recital in Tsuboi Padua, a town near Venice. (2005) There are quite a few quartet concerts in November and December.One is Stuttgart, Germany.Next January, I will play Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in Armenia. There will be a facility concert in January, a piano and duo recital in February and March, and a chamber music concert in Zurichtonhalle in April.

Tsuboi I think that my vision for the future will change in various ways, but I have changed at all.But the details have changed, but I don't think the big vision has changed much.I think it is important to envision such a thing.For example, how many years do you want to study abroad, do you want to spread your activities in Japan or abroad, do you want to do it by playing, or both?There are various possibilities even if it is not these two.When I was in Singapore, I feel like I had only big dreams in my head.