Kensei Yamaguchi / 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 Kensei Yamaguchi, who is active as a pianist in Berlin, Germany, as a guest. I would like to talk about the theme of "studying abroad in music."
(Interview: March 2008)


Kensei Yamaguchi
Born in 1969.Born in Tokyo. Started playing the piano at the age of five.Graduated from Toho Gakuen College of Music. In 5, received a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scholarship and went to Europe.Graduated from Berlin University of the Arts.He has studied under Hiroko Edo, Naoko Shibanuma, Erich Andreas, and Pascal Devaillon. Received the 92rd prize in the 98 Porto International Piano Competition (Portugal), the 3st prize in the 99th Senigallia International Piano Competition in 28, and the Chamber Music Award (Italy). In 1, he won the 2000th Monte Carlo International Piano Competition (Monaco), in which only pianists who have won the competition participate, and attracted attention.Currently based in Berlin, he is active in various fields such as chamber music as well as solo performances in Europe, the United States, and various parts of Japan.

— First, please tell us a brief biography.
Yamaguchi I started playing the piano at the age of 5, went to Toho Gakuen from high school, and went to college for four years.Immediately after graduating from university, he studied abroad in Germany and entered the Berlin University of the Arts in 4.
— Did your parents originally play music?
Father Yamaguchi was very fond of classical music.By the time I was born, I already had an upright piano at home and my dad was playing it.Then I have an older sister, but she didn't play the piano.Speaking of which, two members of my family were playing, so it seems that I started playing without permission when I got the hang of it.The parents who saw it seemed to think that this child was interested, and when he was about 5 years old, he asked me to go to the neighborhood piano sensei to see it. became.
— What is sensei in your neighborhood?
I went to a beauty college student near Yamaguchi for about a year.That was the reason I started playing the piano.
- Is It was fun?
Yamaguchi It was fun. I don't remember much because I was 5 years old (laughs), but I never thought I didn't like it.I started with Bayer as you do in Japan, but it seemed like it was going fast and it ended rather quickly, and I was practicing at Burgmüller and Sonatina.
- Really.
Yamaguchi So, my dad really likes classical music, so I recorded the songs on the radio on cassettes.That's why my dad isn't an expert either, so I don't know, and he buys the score and gives me the song I want to play.Chopin's Concerto and Beethoven's Concerto when I was still playing Bayer ...I say play it (laughs).
— That's amazing (laughs).
Yamaguchi Yes.However, I feel that it has led to my first look.

Active in Berlin
— Didn't you think you couldn't do it?
Yamaguchi: You played the first few bars of Chopin's song very hard.
— Originally there was a classic in the house.
Yamaguchi Yes, that's right.So I didn't dislike it.However, since I'm a child, I don't like it about once a year, and when that happens, I get a katsu (laughs).The piano was locked ... (laughs).I wish I was happy there, but it wasn't.
— Generally, when you're in junior high school or high school, you're interested in rock and pop. Did you continue to do classic music in that situation?
Yamaguchi That's right.I didn't wonder at all.Of course, there was a lot of that kind of music on TV and radio, but I wasn't particularly interested in other areas.However, my sister listened to a wide range of music, not just classical music, so I had the opportunity to listen to Japanese pop music.
— Is your sister still playing music?
Yamaguchi: I'm sure my house has a piano and I have two daughters, but I heard that my older child is playing a brass band.
— You're a family interested in music.
Yamaguchi That's right.Some of my relatives are singing in the chorus, my dad was in the chorus, and I played the guitar.
— You can do it if you want to do an ensemble with your family.
Do you call it Yamaguchi? (Laughs).There was a song score at home, and it was accompanied by my sister and father singing.That's the same thing I'm doing now! (Laughs).That's why it was an environment where I naturally learned that kind of thing, not education.Looking back now, there was naturally music in my life.

Play the concerto
— Is Yamaguchi solo?
Yamaguchi: Basically, I've been solo all the time.The accompaniment was done at the same time as the solo, and I feel like I'm still doing it.Everything I was doing at that time seems to be my current job.There was also a composition department in high school, so I also played songs made by those people.You were doing exactly the same thing in Berlin.
— How did you get to the Berlin University of the Arts?
Yamaguchi: Since I became a college student, I had a vague desire to study abroad, and I just didn't know what to do, so I was listening to various people.At that time, Toho had a system in which sensei was invited from overseas to give an extension lecture, and I was making good use of it.The practical sensei that I had at the time also recommended it, so I took all sensei lessons.Some sensei come from the United States, France, Russia, Germany, England ... So I was wondering where to study abroad.
— Is it a private lesson or is it like Toho's master class?
Yamaguchi There were both.All were public lessons.
- So that's it.So how did you decide on Berlin after taking various sensei lessons?
Yamaguchi: When I thought about studying abroad, there was a real cost problem, and my parents told me that I should go if I could get a scholarship.That's why I applied for many scholarship programs.Among them was DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).So, when I was applying for them, the first sensei I got with was Andreas, who came to Toho.So I took a lesson, and at that time, Japanese practical sensei said, "Please decide for him" and "You mentioned all your weaknesses."That's why I wasn't pinpointing this too (laughs), but it was like that.
- So that's it.
Yamaguchi Then, a few years ago, when I was 20 years old, I went to Europe for the first time in an international competition, and at that time I didn't expect to go to Berlin in the future, but my friend who had been studying abroad went to Berlin. Because I was there, I had the experience of seeing what was going on.The Berlin Wall was in 1989, the following year, in 1990, when I was in the third year of college.
- Yeah yeah.
The Yamaguchi competition itself was in Belgium, but from there I took a train to a friend in Berlin and took about a month to explore Europe.I felt like going out of the competition for the time being, and I was told by the practical sensei to see what Europe is like rather than the competition.
— That's why you chose Berlin.So did you take the exam right away?
Yamaguchi: No, when I graduated from a Japanese university in March and told Andreas sensei that I received a scholarship over the phone, he said, "Then, let's write a letter of recommendation."So the timing was really good.I thought that such timing was very important.
— That's why you got a scholarship.
Yamaguchi and others have all fallen, but I was happy to get only the DAAD scholarship.So I got a scholarship for one year, I could make excuses for my parents, and I decided to study abroad. The DAAD scholarship allows you to study a language only for the first four months.It was in Freiburg.I left in May to participate in it. I stayed in June, July, August and September, and during that time I went back and forth between Berlin and Freiburg, took an entrance examination, and started going to Berlin in October.

With Pascal de Vaillant sensei
— How long have you been to school in Berlin?
Yamaguchi Berlin University of the Arts was originally for 5 years, but since I went there after graduating from a Japanese university, I was exempted from credits for the departments I took in Japan, and I was in the 5th semester of the Berlin University, that is, the 3rd year. You can start from.All I had to do was chorus with some departments.It was difficult to take the department in German, but at the same time, a friend of mine who had been from high school in Berlin after graduating from high school was taking a lecture at the Berlin University of the Arts from the beginning. I thought it was due to that person.If you receive it in Germany from the beginning, it will be quick to learn the language.
— After graduating from university, you will be working professionally. What are the pros and cons of doing classical music in Germany?
Yamaguchi: I thought about the bad points, but there is nothing in particular.There are many other bad things about Germany (laughs).But if you say that, there are bad things in every country.The good thing is that classic music and such cultural things are close at hand.When you think of a classical music concert in Japan, you might think of it as being clever in a concert hall, but in Germany, there are many opportunities to listen to the performance in places that are not the case.For example, there is music in places like churches, salon-like spaces, and palace halls.
— Are you familiar with it?
Yamaguchi: It's familiar.For example, even in the opera theater, there are three places in the old east and west, and they are doing it all year round.I think there is a merit that you can easily enjoy it without having to hold it.As an aside, I've come to be able to enjoy opera in Japan as well, but even so, when it comes to performances in Japan, I'm wondering how much it costs every second (laughs), so it's not easy.Well, I think it can't be helped because it costs money.
— You mean that you have more opportunities to perform in Germany than in Japan.
Yamaguchi That's right.There are many small jobs such as playing in such a church.Since it's small, the reward may be laughable (laughs), but in the end, if you don't do that kind of work, there are places where the story doesn't connect first.
— Do you feel like doing a small job and expanding the range of work?
Yamaguchi: I came that way.

On a lake in Germany
— Do you think it is important to study abroad in Germany in various countries?
Yamaguchi I think it's a shortcut.I think it's important to master German.It's about how important the German-speaking composer's repertoire is, but it's a word that started with Bach, and was spoken by Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, Brahms in the Romantics. I think it's a very short cut to know that.
— Does it feel like you can touch the essence directly?
Yamaguchi: I think that's the kind of environment.For example, in Berlin, if you drive a little to the suburbs, you can reach a place with a lake or forest in 15 or 20 minutes.That's why sometimes the image is easy to understand.
- So that's it.Is it possible to imagine and play the image when composing?
Yamaguchi That's right.Even if I was in Tokyo and wanted to play Schubert, I didn't know how to imagine it.
— Even if you look at the skyscrapers, the image seems to be difficult to understand.
Yamaguchi Haha (laughs).However, after traveling to Japan, I realized that there is such a place in Japan as well.However, I was born and raised in Tokyo, so in that sense, I think that what was given to Germany is great.
— Is there any other difference between Germany and Japan?
Yamaguchi: You have a relaxed sense of time.On the contrary, it melts (laughs).You may feel that it is faster.Recently, I really like the functional aspects of Japan.It seems like everyone is working properly (laughs).It wasn't until I left the country that I realized it.
— After that, you will be working in Germany. Are there any advantages or disadvantages for Japanese people to work in Germany?
Yamaguchi: I often work as an accompaniment, but many of my colleagues are Japanese.I feel that Japanese cooperation is being bought.An ensemble cannot be done by one person.I think that is an advantage.Also, in Germany, Japanese people have a good impression.
— Hmm, is that so?
Yamaguchi: Well, many people have a good impression.On the other hand, the bad thing is that some people are like, "Can Japanese people do classics?"Actually, my sensei also said, but when I go to the judges of the competition, it seems that some people say, "Japanese people can't understand."
— Is it outright?
Yamaguchi Yes.He hasn't listened to the performance anymore.There seems to be such a thing.
— That's a pretty disadvantage, isn't it?
Yamaguchi But I think it's changing steadily.They often listen to me if I have the ability.Recently, the number of Japanese is gradually decreasing, but the number of Koreans is increasing, and it is very excellent.Korea's reputation is getting better.
- Is that so.
Yamaguchi: The Berlin University of the Arts that I attended is abbreviated as "UdK" in the alphabet, and those people are called "Unterkunft der Koreaner". I'm joking that it's a Korean accommodation (laughs).
— There are so many.
Yamaguchi There are many.As with the College of Music, for example, the Courchevel class held in France in the summer overlaps with the summer vacation, so many people come.
— Is it more than Japanese?
Yamaguchi That's right.That's the impression.I don't know about other countries, but the number of international students to Germany is increasing regardless of the instrument.
— What is classic for Yamaguchi?
Yamaguchi: It's a word of people, but as my favorite South American Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos said recently, music is like a letter that doesn't expect a reply. ..In short, it is a message for people who do not know, who do not meet, or who do not know where they are in the future.That word left an impression on me.
— Haha.So that's it.
Yamaguchi Also, my dad quietly said, "When I had a hard time living, music suddenly came out and I was really healed. I thought I should try my best to live." ..
— That's a wonderful word.
Yamaguchi: I think music is that kind of thing.After all, it's not just the performer's heart, but I feel that everything appears.
— Does that mean the state of the performer, the maturity of the mind?
Yamaguchi I think all of them will come out.I can't say specifically, but from my experience so far, I think it certainly conveys to people.
— The deeper you are, the more you feel that it is transmitted.
Yamaguchi Yes.
— On the contrary, if you do it superficially, it will not be transmitted.
Yamaguchi That's right.You can't lie.
- So that's it.That's a very heavy word.
Yamaguchi: I think there are some differences depending on the person who catches it.
— By the way, is the reaction of the customers different when you play well and when you feel a little sick?
Yamaguchi: It doesn't always match.For example, even in the repertoire, I wasn't very good at it, and when I was playing while wondering if this was all right, the evaluation was good. I can't help it "(laughs).To be specific, Brahms has no special feelings, but he always receives good reviews.That's why I want to do Brahms once in a while (laughs).On the contrary, I like Schumann so much that I played it in front of every sensei, but even if I thought I played it comfortably, everyone would have the same scary face (laughs).Since then, you've escaped from Schumann.
— Can you tell us your future goals?
Yamaguchi: To be honest, do you say that this is the only way to go, or that you can't think of anything other than music?Considering the stability of life, there are many other good things, but I think I made a mistake ... (laughs).I can only do this, so I'm thinking of studying this.To that end, I would like to work enthusiastically and broadly on everything.
- So that's it.
Yamaguchi: Of course I would like to do solos, but if I have the opportunity, I would like to do an ensemble with an orchestra and various musical instruments.It's a derailment, but if you want to play the piano alone, you can do as much as you want.With stringed instruments, there are many opportunities to play with people, but with piano, there are many people who just play alone, even if they look around.I don't think it's good, for example, even if I play one piano concerto, I think it's better to know each instrument of the orchestra that I co-star with.
— Then, do you want to deepen not only solo but also orchestra and chamber music in general?
Yamaguchi That's right.I want to do it in a well-balanced manner.
— What are the conditions and secrets for working as a professional musician?
Yamaguchi: Well, I still feel desperate (laughs).Except for the superstars who got on the flow well, it's still difficult.Colleagues around me had to choose whether they wanted to stay here (Berlin) or go back to Japan.So most went back to Japan.However, it seems to be difficult because I have to make a living even if I go home.Even if I try to teach at school, it's hard to find a place to work ...
- I see, i see.
Yamaguchi: In my case, I was spending about half of my time doing accompaniment work while studying practical skills.However, that was suitable.Besides, before I noticed it, the people around me noticed it, and I was able to work naturally.However, I always accepted the work that was given to me as "yes".
— It means that you will definitely take chances.
Yamaguchi That's right.I think there are some people who are uncomfortable with that.Such a person will be only solo.I think it's different for each person who refuses because it interferes with their piano practice, but I think it's important to interact with people.In my case, while doing so, a person named Marianne Betocher, a violin teacher at the Berlin University of the Arts, appeared, and one day I was suddenly asked if I could do it because the pianist I had planned for the seminar could not be done. , Because that job spread to the next job.Since she also has a concert, she will support her and lead to new jobs.
— It will also advertise (laughs).
Yamaguchi That's right.So, of course, she plays great, but she's extremely talented in that regard.Looking at her, I think that's how I'm going to be a performer.It will make a tremendous appeal.And she has a good personality again, so I think she will trust her personality and lead to work.
— You have a good personality and you can appeal to them.However, being able to work with such people all the time is a great opportunity for Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi That's right.So, my studyer, Devaillon, jokes, "If you want to build a career, you can't practice, you have to sit in front of the phone," but that's half the hit. That's right.It's not really good (laughs).
— But that's right in the sense of getting a job, isn't it?It's interesting (laughs).
Yamaguchi That's right.Hahahaha (laughs).
— Please give some advice to readers who are planning to study abroad.
Yamaguchi After all, studying abroad is a great opportunity, and the support around us to realize it is enormous.Given that opportunity, I think it's best to greedily take on everything and not be afraid of making mistakes.In Japan, mistakes tend to be taboo, but in Germany, mistakes are relatively generous.I don't think I can learn without mistakes.
- Yeah yeah.
Yamaguchi Then, I think it is important not to consider success as the first goal, but to set goals.The tendency may differ depending on the country where you study abroad ...The other day, I said that my friends tend to play differently depending on the country where they study abroad.In the case of the United States, he puts himself in front of him, thinks about his career, and that is reflected in his performance.Germany didn't do that at all, and in my case, I was wondering if I should start over again.You've relearned from the really basics.
— Thank you very much for your wonderful story today.