Yu Kosuge is the soloist for the Japanese premiere of Dai Fujikura's Piano Concerto No. 3 "Impulse," which will be performed at the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra's (YNSO) subscription concert at Suntory Hall in Akasaka, Tokyo, on Friday.
The pianist, based in Germany, spoke to The Yomiuri Shimbun about Fujikura's works, which are performed all over the world.
The world premiere of "Impulse" took place on Oct. 5 in Monaco. Kosuge was the soloist, with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo conducted by Kazuki Yamada, the principal guest conductor of the YNSO. He will also take the baton in the forthcoming YNSO concert with Kosuge.
"I thought it was beautiful music, even when I played on my own, but when the orchestra came in, it felt very three-dimensional," she said.
The concerto is filled with Fujikura's signature sounds, with sparkling notes jumping around. "In this concerto, 'Impulse,' the solo piano and orchestra are one living organism," Fujikura wrote in his program notes -- the piano and orchestra send signals to each other and react to them, and the whole process is repeated again and again.
When Kosuge was in Monaco for the premiere, she had a walk on the beach with Fujikura. Stones on the beach were being washed over by the waves. Fujikura told her, "This is the picture I have in mind."
"[To a pianist], it's a technically extremely difficult work that you'll never be able to play without practice after practice," Kosuge said of the concerto. "Mr. Fujikura was unaware of how difficult it is, and asked me, 'Whoa, is it hard?'"
In the cadenza part, she must play 32nd notes softly with clarity.
"When I can play [that part], it's a very good feeling," she said.
For Kosuge, this is the third work by Fujikura that she will have played.
"In all three works, he treats the piano as a singing instrument. I can feel it's alive," the pianist said.
They often communicate with each other on social media, talking about the popular game Dragon Quest and other topics. The friendship started several years ago after Fujikura listened to a recording of Beethoven by Kosuge and told her what he thought about it.
In 2016, Kosuge completed the gigantic task of recording and performing all the piano sonatas by Beethoven.
"I want to deepen my understanding of the philosophical messages I pursued with Beethoven works," she said of her aspirations now.
She is currently working on a recital series titled "Four Elements." Using ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles' thoughts as a basis, she picked water, fire, air and earth as the essential four elements that humans need, and is compiling a selection of works related to them at each concert.
"Things are becoming more and more convenient in society, but I wonder whether the ties between people are getting deeper or shallower. The goal [of the concert series] is to think about what is necessary for humans," she said.
Kosuge continues taking on various challenges day after day. Recently, she began conducting while playing piano solos in concertos.
"Impulse" will be performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in the near future. Kosuge is scheduled to perform at the concerts.
"I'd like to help it become recognized across the world," she said.
Visit yomikyo.or.jp/e/ for more information on the YNSO concert.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
