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I heard that you first learned to play the violin from your father Masao Kawasaki, Mito Chamber Orchestra (MCO)' s violist. Could you tell me about when you began to play?

I started playing the violin rather late, when I was six years old; I don’t remember much about those days. My father taught me in the beginning and after a year from the ages of seven to ten I took lessons with Setsu Goto, mother of the great violinist Midori. What I do remember is that my first piece that I learned with her was a difficult piece called Symphonie Espagnole by Edouard Lalo. My father told me when I was older that he was shocked. I don’t know whether I played it well or not but I remember the one bedroom New York City apartment where my lessons took place; I would fumble around in the living room while Midori practiced the Paganini Caprices on the other side of the wall.

You are currently a member of MCO, a concert master of National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and at the same time also actively performing with a chamber music ensemble Trio INK, etc. As a performer what is the difference between playing with an orchestra and a chamber music ensemble?

Firstly, I have to have my own musical standards and prepare the best I can before rehearsals begin. Chamber music is a more individual based creative process where as orchestra becomes more of a consensus based process. Both deal with similar issues like ensemble, blending and dynamic balance work but chamber music is much more refined like taking a microscope and zooming in on all the details; string quartet is a perfect example. MCO with about 30 players gets a bit diluted.
I will be guest concertmastering for NHK for the first time. I have rarely played with such a large orchestra and I think it will be a very different experience than playing with MCO and my regular orchestra in Ottawa. I equate it to the experience of driving a car. Take a classic big American car with rear-wheel drive from the 70s and 80s; you turn the steering wheel and it’s slower to respond than a smaller Japanese car with front-wheel drive. If a big orchestra is the American car then MCO is the Japanese car and a string quartet is the motorcycle; the smallest vehicle that can make the tight turns and respond immediately to acceleration and deceleration.

Could you talk about the members of Quartet AT Mito?

I had been playing with all the members of this group for the last ten years as Arkas Quartet in Sasebo, Nagasaki. The inception of this quartet actually took place right here in Mito. I had come to play with MCO and a staff member from Sasebo came to visit me to ask about assembling a new group. I recall we spoke about it over cake and coffee at the Keisei Hotel.
I first contacted Rei [Tsujimoto]. I have always wanted to work with him since the first time I heard him play. This would have been more than 20 years ago when I was teaching at the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy Okishiga in Nagano. He was studying Beethoven’s op. 127 with Miwako Watanabe (former member of MCO). When I heard his group perform, I immediately felt a musical affinity towards him.
The other two Yuka [Nishino] and Shota [Yanase], I became friends with them at the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Matsumoto. They both had such deep knowledge of string quartets; Yuka being the first violinist of Quartet Excelsior and Shota being a member of String Quartet Arco. The other members of Arco, Masaya Soshi, Ryotaro Ito and Nobuk Furikawa were also at Saito Kinen and we were all very close.
The members of Quartet AT Mito are musically and personally sympatico. We are great friends and making music together is pure joy and fun, not work!

This quartet has set a goal for more intimate communication with the audience by introducing talks during concerts. And this group also aims to include not so well-known composers in the program."Benkei's Standing Death" by Paul Wiancko (1980-) will be included in the upcoming program. Could you tell us about why this work was selected?

It may not be common practice in Japan but in North America we incorporate some talking during the program. I want to do this in Mito; I believe it brings us closer to our listeners.
I was introduced to Paul Wiancko’s work during a chamber music concert with my colleagues of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. It was during the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement had just erupted across America. Diversity in concert programming became a priority. We centered the concert around a work by a black composer, Adolphus Hailstork (1941-). It was a string quartet that featured a set of variations based off of the black spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”.
This naturally lead us to program Dvorak’s “America” which was written after he moved to the USA and became engrossed in black spirituals as evidence in his use of the pentatonic scale. We wanted one more “American” work and that’s when we came across an exciting piece called “LIFT” by Paul Wiancko. I have never met Paul, but I knew his sister Michi Wiancko. We studied at Juilliard around the same time so when I heard the name Wiancko there was something familiar about it.
I believe the inspiration behind the composition of “Benkei‘s Standing Death” must come from Paul’s desire to connect with his roots; he is half Japanese. I selected this work because I want to share my musical experiences with the audience at Quartet AT Mito’s concert. I had a wonderful time playing “LIFT” and I want to share this feeling. Isn’t this how most people share experiences; through recommendations of others? Like recommendations to a tasty restaurant or a really entertaining movie.

When I heard the title "Benkei's Standing Death," I thought traditional Japanese scales must have been used. On the contrary, this piece seems to depict the story with special string instrument techniques, without depending on nationality or ethnic background.

In this piece there are many pizzicato moments. Upon first look, the score contains strict arrangements of notes but considerable leeway with timing is given to the individual players. Speaking of pizzicatos it’s interesting how composers use this technique. Ravel’s string quartet has an iconic movement that begins with melodious pizzicatos. On the other hand some composers use it as sound effect. In the second movement of Vivaldi’s “Winter” pizzicatos are used to depict the popping sound of a fire burning. In both these cases the pizzicatos are harmonized but Wiancko uses it very differently. He uses it to describe flying arrows and falling rain; there is a sense of randomness.

In the later half, Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 D minor "Death and the Maiden" is the masterpiece of masterpieces.

I have played this with the same members, and at that time we played it after the reading of a poem
that this piece had been based upon. In Mito, we are thinking about the similar setting to deepen the appreciation of this work.
I have experienced a lot from this piece. It is tremendously powerful, and I studied it properly when I was a student. When Robert Mann, the first violinist of Julliard String Quartet, taught a master class at The Julliard School, I still remember hearing other students play this piece. When he talked about the theme and variations of movements, he compared it with different parts of the human body; the first violin was the heart, the second violin was the nervous system, the viola was the soul, and so forth .... Various parts of the body have their own functions, but together they form a whole human body. It was a metaphor that each member had a different and independent character, but they create music as a whole.
MCO also has a recording of this piece. I have a personal memory for the Orchestral version arranged by Mahler. When David Zinman became music director in 1998 at Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado, there was an orchestral concert. The first half was Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, and the second half was "Death and the Maiden." Sinfonia concertante had guest soloists: the violinist Cho-Liang Lin, and the violist of Guarneri Quartet Michael Tree. Being a fan of Guarneri Quartet, I was so excited, "Wow, I can see Michael Tree play!" The first half ended, and I was talking with my fellow orchestra members saying, "I wish I could play 'Death and the Maiden' with Michael Tree, it would be amazing." He was none other than THE string quartet expert. The second half was about to start, and members of the orchestra including me were waiting for the conductor to appear on stage. The door at the wing of the stage opened, and out came a stage manager, instead of the conductor. He carried a music stand and a chair. Tree slowly walked out to the stage, sat in back of the violists, and played the viola with us! The whole orchestra got excited thinking "We are playing 'Death and the Maiden' with Michael Tree!" It was one of my top five memorable concerts in my life. Of course, the very intense nature of this piece intensified this experience.

Mito Chamber Orchestra (MCO) The 38th Regular Concert (April 1999. Mr.Yosuke Kawasaki’s first concert with MCO)

It's an inaugural concert, and I'm looking forward to listening to this program. Please give a message to the audience in Mito.

For me, playing in Mito feels like a homecoming. As a professional musician, MCO was the first to invite me to Japan. I greatly appreciate that they have been making more opportunities for me to play in Japan. My work in Canada keeps me busy these days and I can't participate as often, but I used to play in almost every concert a long time ago. It happens that my grandparents came from Hitachiota City so I have my roots in Ibaraki prefecture. When I think about the audience in Mito who have been supporting me since I was young, it really feels like a homecoming. In addition to MCO, I also had opportunities to play chamber music with groups like Trio Plus and Trio INK, in front of junior high school students in Mito. I am so happy to play in a house string quartet at this homelike Mito. A string quartet has fewer members, so it is closer to the audience. I would like to continue the up-close communication with the people who gather at Art Tower Mito.

This interview was conducted via Zoom on June 6, 2023.
Interviewer: Toshihiro Konosu