Tomoko Ogasawara / Hochschule für Musik Freiburg / Full-time Lecturer, Department of Piano

Originally from Tokyo, Ogasawara studied abroad in Germany after graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts.He studied at the Berlin University of the Arts and the Freiburg University of Music and won the All-German University of Music competition while attending school.After acquiring the national qualification as a performer and graduating from both schools at the top, he won a prize in numerous international competitions.The repertoire ranges from baroque to modern times, with regular recitals centered on Viennese classical, romantic, impressionist and modern songs.In addition, he has accumulated his career by co-starring with a prestigious orchestra as a soloist.At the 250th Anniversary of Mozart's Birth, all piano sonata concerts were held in German cities to attract a discerning audience.A French newspaper praised Mozart as "a light performance that can be said to be weightless despite the strictness of Germany."He is highly regarded in the music world as a pianist who explores the essence of music as well as technology and reflects it in his performances.As an educator, he taught at the Freiburg University of Music in Germany, has a wealth of experience, and has produced many contest winners.From children to the elderly, we have a reputation for a comprehensive approach that motivates each individual and maximizes their abilities and individuality.He is also a judge of the International Chamber Music Competition, and even in Japan, he teaches pitch, music college students, examinees, applicants for study abroad, and preparation for the competition.

Ogasawara:
Study abroad in Germany:
I studied under Teruji Karashima sensei in the piano department of Tokyo University of the Arts and graduated from the undergraduate school.At that point, I wanted to go abroad anyway, but at the time when there was no information network such as the Internet as it is now, it seemed to catch the clouds at all.One of my seniors came to Berlin by chance, so I relied on him and sent the tape to Georg ∙ Sava, who is still active at the age of XNUMX, and I was able to take it for the entrance examination. It was a turning point in my life.
Music student life in Berlin was international, inspiring and really great.
For two years, I would like to thank Sava sensei for supporting me with two intensive lessons a week and everything else.And every night I went to a concert of a top-notch musician at a bargain price (2 yen for the Berlin Philharmoniker and 2 yen for the opera), which made my ears very discerning.I was so happy!After all, there is a difference from the home.I realized that the orthodox hobby and sense of Western European classics cannot be acquired without carefully tasting the best.
However, when I graduated from the Berlin University of the Arts two years later, I was worried that I wouldn't know the way I had come back to Japan.
It can be said that meeting Georges ∙ Shebock in the master class in Berlin and Switzerland at that time had a decisive influence on my musical life.How can I make such a sucking sound!Can it sound magically easily?At that time, sensei was a professor in Bloomington, USA, but he often came to Europe to perform, teach, and be a guest at Freiburg College of Music. sensei also asked me, "What are you going to do now when you come back to Japan?"It was irresistible to be able to take regular Chebok sensei lessons in Germany instead of going to the expensive United States.So, at the end of my very luxurious student days, I enrolled in Freiburg University of Music to receive the highest degree of concert / soloist examination at the German College of Music, secured VISA, and took on both sensei of Tibo ∙ Hazai and Shebok. I finished it.I absorbed it from the outside in the big city of Berlin, but I couldn't digest it ... After that, it was a more precious period than the exams and competitions to be able to face myself in the beautiful Freiburg surrounded by the bosom of the Black Forest. ..
Coincidentally, all three sensei I arrived in Germany are of Romanian and Hungarian descent.East Europeans have a unique taste in their humanity, and their intonation and rhythmic feelings are musically perfect for my sensibilities.Is this also one of the good luck?
Bamberg:
During this time, I met my current master, the German cellist, and after graduating, I moved to Bamberg, one of Germany's oldest and most beautiful towns, where the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, where he joined and is now a solo cellist, is located.However, it was too stimulating for me at that time, and when I was in trouble that I could not proceed with this, there was a vacancy in the piano department teacher of Freiburg College of Music, so why not audition at that time? I was fortunate enough to get the job after being contacted by the president, Hazai sensei.
Since then, my double life in Bamberg and Freiburg has continued.
After the unification of East and West Germany, Bamberg, which was on the eastern edge of West Germany (Western Europe), became a transportation hub located in the center of Germany, and many foreign tourists visit it as the most beautiful and old town in Southern Germany with an internationally renowned orchestra. became.I enjoy performing in various chamber music concerts both inside and outside Germany with the wonderful orchestra members there every year.
Work at Freiburg College of Music:
Freiburg's College of Music is, first of all, the greatness of its teachers, which stands out from other colleges of music in Germany.The exchanges beside each department are also active, and I am often inspired and supported not only by the piano department but also by my colleagues in music theory.Freiburg is located on the southwestern tip of Germany, about XNUMX minutes from the Swiss-French border.Therefore, there are many international students from France, Spain, Italy, etc., and the atmosphere of the university town blessed with nature is academic but open and lively, and it is one of the most popular music colleges in Europe.
As for myself, I've been deeply involved in playing and teaching in Germany for so long! It feels like I'm ripe for what I want to teach and what I think I can teach.The class has grown and the level has risen, and I am very satisfied with the fact that I am often involved in the important management organization of the university.
Currently, I teach a class in which Westerners and Orientals are mixed in almost half.Observing and comparing the differences in national character that appear in their playing, sensitivity, and perception of music is an endlessly creative task.Especially for Japanese people, I can clearly see that it is wonderful because I taught them well from an early stage, and that the reading of the score is sweet and I missed the important points and I was disappointed. ..

Ogasawara: I don't know if it's because Japanese people use chopsticks with their right hand, but first of all, I've taken a look at the conspicuous parts (mostly the right hand) and the crowded parts, which is technically perfect. It seems that the focus is often on playing the chopsticks.On top of that, he tries to listen to the tune with singing emotions.Every sound sounds crunchy, but there is little stereoscopic effect and it often sounds like the contents are missing.It doesn't listen much to the underlying harmony of music (especially the accompaniment form-generally the left hand).Every note has its own place and direction at the intersection of the vertical (chord) and horizontal (tune) lines, which determines the overall resonance of the harmony and the tune.If you are not conscious of the foundation of the tune, the three-dimensional effect will be impaired, the balance will be poor, and the music as a whole will become unstable.Furthermore, the meaning of each sound becomes opaque, making it difficult for the sounds to merge.It naturally affects the flow of phrases.It sounds very difficult to say this, but when you understand it, it's so easy and clear.It makes breathing easier and naturally makes it easier to play.
Music itself can be said to be an international language, but if so, the bottleneck for Japanese people trying to learn Western music is exactly Japanese.Japanese is a flat language with few intonations, isn't it?I often speak with the difference between vowels and consonants muddy.In addition, the sentence structure is also a relative pronoun, and although it is logical, the sub-sentences overlap one after another, but it is a complicated and long German sentence!Is more concise and shorter.Therefore, I think it is natural that when Japanese people play Western classical music, they tend to be flat and small.In that case, coupled with the weakness of the sense of harmony mentioned earlier, the breath of the phrase becomes shorter, and I do not notice that the way of taking the beat of the harmony is misunderstood or the way of singing the tune is also unnatural.
Also, Japanese people are not good at grasping the whole picture.I'm good at separating the parts and finishing them in detail from the smallest details.But music is not patchwork.If you pay too much attention to the details, take everything seriously, and try to get rid of it with all your might, you will put unnecessary tension on your body.The sound will not be stiff and stretchy, and it will be difficult to get on with the flow of music.
The Japanese performances are generally neatly organized, but they lack impact, and it is easy to think that the view is narrow, not only because of the language gap, but also because of the difference in mentality.
Speaking of how to read the score, is the above on the keyboard accurate?However, I can't read that it isn't written (it's natural that it's not written from the perspective of a Western composer-native language).That's why it's easy to get out of place there and make mistakes in the musical grammar around it.I don't immediately know it's strange.But when I compare and explain or play it, I'm immediately convinced which one is better, so it's not that I lack a musical sense.
I'm only familiar with German every day, so I'm used to reading music as if I were reading this book.However, I haven't forgotten Japanese, so for example, if you hear a foreigner who doesn't understand the meaning at all and speaks or sings by imitating the Japanese pronunciation perfectly, you will think something strange. ??When I listen to Japanese performances, I sometimes feel something similar to this.
I'm talking about a case where the level of performance is quite high, but I'm not doing anything wrong, but something is missing, strange?In many cases, the person himself feels somehow.But somehow it's not good.Also, it is good for Japanese people to take good care of their emotions, but in this case, it would be even more troublesome if they were played by their own emotions and images.You can use your fist to sing and sing, or you can just get drunk and play.Even if it's just emotional and singing, it's not a story if it deviates from the natural sense of classical music.Each composer has his own dignified and unique way of speaking and language.This cannot be ignored.
Even the same German, Haydn and Beethoven, and French, Ravel and Poulenc are quite different.In that sense, when I teach French, Italian, and Russian students, ah, that's how I speak in my native language, and I see, I often learn.When French people play French things, they rarely make the grammatical mistakes I mentioned earlier, because they speak in their native language.On the contrary, when Germans play Brahms, even if there are a lot of pianistic problems, grammatical mistakes are not so easy to make.
It's a delicate place, though.Many years of experience and observations have made that area clear, and I think it is my role between Europe and Japan to teach it to the Orientals.
However, if you want to study abroad from Japan, you should disregard the language barriers and needs, and simply dream that you can get something by going to the West and getting to the (famous) sensei of Westerners. It seems that there are still many.But think about it for a moment.Isn't it natural that international students who can't speak German, at least in English, have their own limits on the teaching side, which makes it impossible to take lessons beyond a certain level?
There is no sensei of Westerners who understand Japanese and take lessons in consideration of the problems peculiar to Japanese people as I have mentioned so far.And the fact is that very few Japanese teach the piano major at the German College of Music.
Of course, the talent and intellect of the person and the education up to that point are the foundation of everything.The education and efforts I've received have never been wrong, just focusing on what I haven't seen yet, and not trying to fix the mistakes, but with a radical or different approach. I would like to get closer to solving that question (in Japanese).

Ogasawara: That's right.From the perspective of Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans are all crazy.It's a rude story from here.But from the perspective of Japanese people (as I used to do), Westerners are all about white people, aren't they?
However, the national character of the Germanic and Latin peoples is surprisingly different.
Germans like logical thinking and are very self-assertive.So I'm very debate and the number of TV talk shows (not cooking shows) speaks for itself.It is also reflected in German politics and diplomatic skill.In order to convince the other person of your opinion, you must speak clearly, and if you keep silent, you will be misunderstood that you do not have an opinion, and if you are not good at it, it may be ignored.Silence is definitely not money in Germany and read the air?The virtues of humility are hardly understood.I'm not very good at giving it away and putting it in a circle, and I often think it's inflexible.However, it is only by clarifying each other's opinions that respect that is indispensable for understanding and cooperating with each other is born.
Surrounded by nine neighboring countries, Germany is one of the most trusted economic powers in the world, having overcome the worst damage of the two World Wars while constantly working hard on the border between Western and Eastern Europe. It is the cornerstone of diplomacy.It's hard to say that it's as bright, elegant and light as the Latin people, and although it's not very flexible, it's simple and tough, and you'll be amazed at the ability to act and sustain, backed by thorough logical thinking.I feel that it is a big country where I actually live.And that naturally reflects on culture, language and art.
Since I was a kid, I loved Western literature, especially German literature, and I read and hunted, and I was also attracted to classical music.That's probably the first reason I wanted to go to Germany.However, no matter how hard I try to improve my piano in Japan, I can't grasp it unless I live in a place where I actually speak my mother tongue with my talent.Even before I entered Tokyo University of the Arts, I felt that the important part would remain blindfolded.
And I thought that no one would tell me that, I had to go over there.If you go that way, it's not so easy to understand in about 4 or 5 years.
I'm still doing it because I want to understand it more deeply, even though it's been decades.It's really deep, it's wide, it's been a long way, but it's not good anymore.And I want to tell the younger generation, who was born decades later than me, more accurately, while cultivating the flexibility and patience that pianists need most, so that I can clear what I have detoured a little more easily.

Ogasawara: If you want to study abroad, it goes without saying that wherever you go, you will need to hone your specialized skills to pass the entrance exam, polyphonic songs such as Bach, Viennese classical school, and etude are basically emphasized everywhere. ..And the important thing is to find a sensei that suits you.I have to contact not only the site and word of mouth but also the sensei to listen to and take lessons.
After that, the language will be decisive.In Germany, BXNUMX of the German language certificate or BXNUMX depending on the music college is a prerequisite before applying for the application.There is also a music college where the written test is added on the day of the entrance examination.No matter where you study abroad, conversational ability is indispensable for communication over there, and it is necessary to be able to understand not only individual lessons but also lectures such as seminars to some extent.Also, language is indispensable for understanding music itself, which is an international language, so it is best to start learning early.This alone doesn't work overnight, so ...
Also, depending on the music college, there are places where you request a first-time trial at the entrance examination.I think that reading the score comprehensively at a glance is one of the most important abilities of a pianist.You should be trained on a regular basis regardless of whether you are on the entrance exam or not.
Also, in Japan, the teacher-apprentice relationship and the parent-child relationship are polite and precise, but it seems that it is difficult for both sides to become independent.For example, most Chinese students leave their parents at the age of XNUMX or XNUMX and come to the West to steadily prepare for study abroad.English is much better than Japanese, and there are many children who are self-reliant and unique.A global citizen with a continental vision.No matter what you do, you can only develop your spiritual strength by walking independently.

Ogasawara: Well, I don't know all the teaching methods of Japanese sensei, so I can't understand that.But let's say you teach a Japanese student over there.What kind of teaching have you done?Most students say that if they can't play well, sensei tells them to do it, and if they do, it's better. It is.Then, don't you try and error yourself or ask sensei any questions?and me.After all, it's there.Whether or not you can make yourself independent, as I said earlier.What I'm worried about is that I'm still spoiled, which I can't understand without a model.
At first, it is natural to imitate when you are young and enter from a copy.However, it is very disappointing and dangerous to grow up depending on copying.To find out for yourself, start by reading the "meaning" of the score accurately, explore how to use the whole body, not just the fingers when making sounds, and then listen more to your own sounds and touches. It's important.It is our teacher's job to support this well.
Also, for example, learning Mozart's piano pieces not only compares (imitates?) The interpretations of other pianists on YouTube, but also listens to other genres such as his opera, chamber music, and symphonies from a wider range. I have to enter.To understand the composer's music and human image.Everything is connected to one, so ...
Also, in Japan, it is completely difficult to understand that even the music college does not put much effort into ensemble education for pianists.If a pianist thinks a soloist is better than an ensemble player or accompaniment, that's a big mistake.Since I was a student, I have enjoyed and learned the joy of sharing music with many instrumentalists and singers.Is there a richer musical and human wealth than this?Even if you are struggling with the piano alone, you can be assured that it will reach a plateau someday.Listen to other instruments (opinions), assert yourself and at the same time integrate them into the whole.By matching your breathing, you can play more flexibly and the palette of tones becomes richer.It naturally leads to expanding the range of music when performing solo.As a pianist, is there a way to miss such a good story?Every instrumentalist and singer needs a pianist with good ears as a partner.

When a small Japanese child is told, "I think I'm not here right now, take it away", eh?That's what it means.But I want to see the child facing the piano alone.How to practice is so individual and no one needs it right.However, if the student (properly?) Plays the kidnapped song in front of sensei and teaches it, sensei is in a position to "fix", and if the teacher thinks that he should fix what he said by next week. There are so many.Then it's a one-way street and it's boring.
Lessons are interesting because you can ping pong only if you have critical thinking, communication, and creativity.Things that aren't interesting don't last long and don't improve.
It's hard to create real fun spontaneously just by seriously observing what was said to be chitin and doing your best not to make a mistake.
That's why I'm going to focus on that as well during the lesson.The ethics and aesthetics of the Japanese are quite different from those of the West.So trying to apply it as it is can be ridiculous.It's not a matter of good or bad, though.
But if you really want to play Western classical music, you have to get rid of the boring self-consciousness of how others see you and find out what you want to be.To establish oneself, it is necessary to have a free perspective and courage to stand from an earlier perspective.
It is natural that it is difficult to grasp the outlook from Japan, which is a pure single ethnic group and an island country.However, as I said at the beginning, information is now excessively overflowing in Japan, which is different from the past (especially).
However, the point is that everything is just one word, "Seeing is believing."
Finally:
I've talked a lot about it, but it seems difficult for ordinary Westerners to understand that we Japanese, who have completely different mentalities and languages, are so enthusiastic about Western classical music and are doing great things overseas. ..Because they know little about oriental history and culture, they haven't learned! (What a mistake!) Besides, I can't understand Japanese at all.The Japanese have an insatiable inquisitive mind to accept, understand, and thoroughly learn what is truly beautiful, even if it is unknown.I sincerely hope that Westerners will be more genuinely interested in the wonderful mentality and culture unique to Japan.That way, the ping pong between us and them will be rich in variety and even more fun.