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【Concert Report】Hayato Sumino plays Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major --Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra's Regular Concert Series No. 352 on May 12, 2022 - Part 1

karikari_1127

On May 12, I heard Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major with Hayato Sumino as a soloist at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall aka Takemitsu Memorial, in Hatsudai, Tokyo (Orchestra: Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Mr. Sachio Fujioka). I enjoyed the performance a lot with a packed audience. Another fun I found recently is reading comments of those who shared the music in the concert hall, either as an audience or a player, mainly on Twitter. Let me share some of the comments with you because I believe they will convey the atmosphere on that day, if not entirely, but somewhat.

Several different ticket agencies sold tickets for this concert, and one of them sold out within a few hours.

On the day of the concert, people were impressed to see the scenes they had rarely seen for the past two years because of the pandemic -- queues in front of the gates and the lobby filled with people.


Before the concert began, Mr. Fujioka, the conductor, delivered a pre-performance talk. He gave brief explanations of the four pieces they were going to play. He also talked about Hayato. The gist of his talk about Hayato is as follows:

  • Mr. Fujioka has played with Hayato several times, and he feels Hayato has been growing rapidly as a concert pianist

  • Choosing Ravel's Concerto is Hayato's idea (I wanted to hear more about this!!!)

  • Hayato's touch is so beautiful

  • Hayato has a lot of passion, but he does not solely rely on force to express it

  • Hayato can play a very delicate, small sound, but the audience can hear it from the end of the hall
    (Those at the venue on that day, please let me know if I missed or miss-described something.)

Now the concert starts.

The first piece was Maurice Ravel's "Ma Mère l'Oye," which Mr. Fujioka said in the talk was his favorite and that the most beautiful piece out of all the Ravel's compositions.

Please refer to these comments. (If you double click the tweet, you will be guided to Twitter's official app, and then you will be able to use Google translate.)

Then comes Hayato's concerto -- reading the following tweets, he succeeded in impressing the regular listeners of this orchestra who had not known him before.

This poster (@kaz_DQ_14) says,

"This was my first time to hear Hayato Sumino's performance live. I was surprised at how many people lined up before the concert began, but it was no wonder he was so popular. His performance was in harmony with the orchestra, and his fingering was delicate. It was as if I were listening to the music in some other world." (translation by @kari_kari1127)

@kaz_DQ_14

Mr. Haruo Yamada is a professional critic. On Hayato, he writes as follows:

"Sumino's unique groove, diverse tones, and haunting expressions of soft sounds are appealing." (translation by @kari_kari1127)

@yamadaharuo1964

This poster (@forgotbirthday) says,

"The piano by Hayato Sumino, who played Ravel's concerto, was also wonderful. I didn't know about him until I bought the ticket and didn't dare to watch his Youtube videos, but his piano was very delicate and rhythmical, sophisticated and stylish. The interaction with the orchestra was also good. The tempo of the 1st and 3rd movements was a bit fast, and the solos by each player were thrilling as they were pushing the envelope." (translation by @kari_kari1127)

@forgotbirthday

There was an interesting comment from a person who listened to the same piece (Ravel's concerto in G major) performed by Ms. Lise de la Salle and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (Conductor: Mr. Lionel Bringuer) in April this year.


This poster (@leopardbox) says,

"Hayato Sumino, aka Cateen, played Ravel ['s Piano Concerto] in the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra's regular concert. Rather than playing and playing soloistically, he played with a soft sound, creating waves [or nuances] of notes with the orchestra. His performance was in stark contrast to that of Lise de la Salle with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, which  I heard the other day. I heard that this concert will be aired on TV, so I will check it out again." (translation by @kari_kari1127)

@leopardbox

This person talks on a positive note, in my opinion, but some other critic observed the same phenomenon, but he (the critic) perceived it negatively, although I got lost the link to his comment. But more interestingly, the critic who was critical of Hayato's concerto performance evaluated his soloist encore.

I will talk about his encore later. (To be continued to Part 2)

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