Taro Hakase Concert Tour 2024 NH&K TRIO Super Chamber Music ~moderato~ supported by Iwatani
The national tour of NH&K TRIO, consisting of violinist Taro Hakase, pianist Yukie Nishimura, and cellist Hiroki Kashiwagi, entitled "Taro Hakase Concert Tour 2024 NH&K TRIO Super Chamber Music -moderato-," kicked off on April 5th at Tachikawa Stage Garden in Tokyo. From Hakase's signature songs such as "Jonetsu Tairiku" and "Another Sky" to NH&K TRIO's new song "moderato," the three, who have been good friends since their school days, performed in perfect harmony, as if they were having a conversation through music, inviting the audience of about 2,500 people into a nostalgic world.
This is the second national tour by the unit "NH & K TRIO" which is the initials of Nishimura (N), Hakase (H), and Kashiwagi (K). The superb harmony of the three members and the high-definition images projected on the large screen are linked, making it feel like watching a movie, and it has become a hot topic among fans as a new type of chamber music concert that has never been seen before.
When the show started and the house lights went down, a large screen in the center of the stage showed a young girl sitting at the piano playing the keys with unfamiliar hands, while an old man watched over her. After a nostalgic opening video, the three appeared on stage and were greeted by applause from the audience. A spotlight shone on Nishimura as he sat at the piano, overlapping with the girl in the video from earlier, and the performance began with the first song, "Etopirika". Then, for the second song, "Himawari", a nostalgic sunflower field spread across the entire screen.
The concert was divided into two parts. In the first part, Hakaze, Kashiwagi, and Nishimura each performed their own original songs. Next, Hakaze took the microphone and said, "Here's a song I'd like everyone to enjoy," and the highlight of the tour began: a performance of the entire masterpiece "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires" by Argentine tango master Astor Piazzolla. The three of them were going to perform all four songs, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, in their own arrangements. Before taking on the challenge, Hakaze carefully explained Piazzolla's achievements to the audience, showing photos of Piazzolla on the screen.
Hakaze read out words from Piazzolla, who lived a turbulent life.
“Life is like the seasons, with ups and downs. First, because humans are not perfect. Second, because the highs don't last forever. Third, because the lows don't last forever.”
As the performance began, Hakaze's passionate violin, as if possessed by Piazzolla, reverberated throughout the venue, Nishimura's piano gave the performance a sense of realism and depth, as if they were traveling through Buenos Aires, and Kashiwagi's cello added vivid color to the two performers' worldview. The audience, who experienced a world that could only be experienced here, continued to applaud loudly until the three performers, who had given their all, left the stage.
After an interval, the second part began with "Another Sky" performed by a seven-person ensemble that included violin, viola, and double bass, making the audience feel as if they were taking a journey through the sky.
In the second half of the concert, Hakaze performed three classical pieces, including Kreisler's "Prelude and Allegro," which she has been playing since she was a child, Massenet's "Meditation from Thais," and Monti's "Czardas." During "Czardas," a piece familiar to classical music fans, the audience joined in with loud applause. Then, Nishimura suddenly stood up in the middle of the performance, smiled at the audience, and went to the toy piano next to him, playing a cute sound, which made the audience even more excited. With the same momentum, the concert went into the final song of the main program, "Jonetsu Tairiku," and the audience stood up and shook their bodies together, waving Hakaze's standard concert goods, "Hakasen Light" (a light-shaped penlight with Hakaze's face on it) from side to side.
Amid the applause of the encore, all the members appeared on stage again and performed NH&K's new song "moderato", which was released digitally on March 27th, and the concert ended. Hakase, Nishimura, and Kashiwagi responded with smiles to the thunderous applause that never ceased and left the stage.
NH&K TRIO's nationwide tour will kick off with a performance in Tachikawa on the first day and will include 17 performances across the country until the two-day show at the National Hall of Pacifico Yokohama on Saturday, May 11th and Sunday, May 12th.
In addition, NH&K TRIO's first album "Adagio", which won the "Instrumental Album of the Year" award at the 38th Japan Gold Disc Awards, has been released as a sheet music collection titled "Piano Trio Hakase Taro, Nishimura Yukie, Kashiwagi Hiroki NH&K TRIO Adagio Vol.1 / Vol.2".
Photo: Nana Yoshimura
[NH&K TRIO comments after the first performance]
Taro Hakase
This time, we tried two new challenges as NH&K TRIO. One was Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires," which we played at the end of the first part. This song is one that the three of us have been working on every year for the past four or five years, before we became NH&K, and we had always wanted to play the whole song someday, so we wanted to create a big story based on Piazzolla's message, and we composed it with video and sound. The other was nostalgia. The three classical numbers we played in the second part are songs that I have practiced countless times since I was a child when my violin career began. And the three members of NH&K have been friends since we were 19 years old, when we were students, and we have walked through our musical lives together, showing each other all our embarrassing parts, so they are, so to speak, my "final home." When I play with these two, I actually feel more nostalgic and look back on the past on stage than the people who came to see us. I often think about "What kind of music can only we make?", but in the end, I always come to the answer that "It must be a very personal starting point." In fact, this video has such a hidden theme from the opening to the ending. I hope that everyone who comes to the concert will be able to find the hidden theme in the performance and the video.
Yukie Nishimura
Last year's tour title was "Adagio" and this one is "moderato", so it feels like we've stepped up a gear overall from last year, but I think we've gotten five times stronger physically (laughs). But we've been working together for many years, so on stage it feels like the three of us are playing catch with our favorite sounds. Even if Taro throws a different ball in the live performance than in rehearsal, we can catch it properly, so it's fun. Taro has been steadily planning "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires" for about five years, saying "Let's do all the songs someday," so it's very moving to finally be able to perform it this time. I'd like to hear how the audience felt about it. We're playing music that only this trio can do, so I'm sure that the audience who come to the venue will be able to see a world they've never seen before. If you haven't experienced it yet, please come and visit us.
Hiroki Kashiwagi
Last year's tour was mainly about self-introductions, but this year Taro will come up with the concept and the two of us will materialize it, so in a sense it will be a very challenging program. But when we actually performed on stage, the first day made me realize that "music is ultimately something that is created together with the audience," and it was a joyful experience. I want to keep going with this momentum until the end, and I'm sure the songs we've played by the final day will continue to grow and change. I want to enjoy those changes and continue to create music together with the audience for the remaining 16 performances.
■Taro Hakase Concert Tour 2024 NH&K TRIO Super Chamber Music ~moderato~
supported by Iwatani
https://taro-hakase.com/blogs/live_info/moderato
April 5th (Friday) Tachikawa Stage Garden, Tokyo
Open 17:30 / Start 18:30 [Inquiries] Kyodo Tokyo TEL: 0570-550-799
April 6th (Sat) NHK Hall, Tokyo
Open 16:00 / Start 17:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Tokyo TEL: 0570-550-799
April 7th (Sun) NHK Hall, Tokyo
Open 13:00 / Start 14:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Tokyo TEL: 0570-550-799
April 12th (Fri) Aichi Prefectural Arts Center Large Hall, Aichi
Open 17:30 / Start 18:30 [Inquiries] Sunday Folk Promotion TEL: 052-320-9100
April 13th (Sat) Aichi Prefectural Arts Center Large Hall, Aichi
Open 15:00 / Start 16:00 [Inquiries] Sunday Folk Promotion TEL: 052-320-9100
April 14th (Sun) Aichi Prefectural Arts Center Large Hall
Open 13:00 / Start 14:00 [Inquiries] Sunday Folk Promotion TEL: 052-320-9100
April 20th (Sat) Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall, Hiroshima
Open 16:00 / Start 17:00 [Inquiries] Candy Promotion TEL: 082-249-8334
April 21 (Sun) Kobe International Hall, Hyogo
Open 15:00 / Start 16:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Information TEL: 0570-200-888
April 27th (Sat) Osaka Festival Hall
Open 16:00 / Start 17:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Information TEL: 0570-200-888
April 28th (Sun) Osaka Festival Hall
Open 13:00 / Start 14:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Information TEL: 0570-200-888
April 30th (Tue) Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater, Hokkaido
Open 17:30 / Start 18:30 [Inquiries] WESS info@wess.co.jp
May 3rd (Friday, National Holiday) Shizuoka City Cultural Center Large Hall
Open 16:00 / Start 17:00 [Inquiries] Sunday Folk Promotion Shizuoka TEL: 054-284-9999
May 5th (Sun) Fukuoka Sunpalace, Fukuoka
Open 15:00 / Start 16:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Nishinippon TEL: 0570-09-2424
May 6th (Monday, holiday) Kumamoto Castle Hall, Main Hall, Kumamoto
Open 15:00 / Start 16:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Nishinippon TEL: 0570-09-2424
May 8th (Wed) Kyoto ROHM Theatre Kyoto Main Hall
Open 17:30 / Start 18:30 [Inquiries] Kyodo Information TEL: 0570-200-888
May 11th (Sat) Pacifico Yokohama National Hall, Kanagawa
Open 15:00 / Start 16:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Yokohama TEL: 045-671-9911
May 12th (Sun) Pacifico Yokohama National Hall, Kanagawa
Open 13:00 / Start 14:00 [Inquiries] Kyodo Yokohama TEL: 045-671-9911
*All seats reserved 11,000 yen (tax included) *Children under 4 years old are not allowed
■Title: moderato
■Release date: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
■ Product number: HUZE-10738
■ Format: Digital single
■ Tracklist: moderato
■Distribution/Subscription: https://hats.lnk.to/moderato240327
Winner of the "Instrumental Album of the Year" award at the 38th Japan Gold Disc Awards!
■Title: Adagio
■Release date: Wednesday, March 22, 2023
■Item number: HUCD-10316 [Regular Edition] Price: ¥3,300 including tax (CD)
HUCD-10317/B [Limited Edition] Price: ¥3,960+tax (CD+DVD)
■ Format: CD / Digital album
■Distribution/Subscription: https://hats.lnk.to/S20230322Adagio
■Publisher: Hats Unlimited Co., Ltd. ■Distributor: Avex Music Creative Inc.
■Title: "Piano Trio Taro Hakase, Yukie Nishimura, Hiroki Kashiwagi NH&K TRIO Adagio Vol.1 / Vol.2"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_272pYJO_U
■Release date: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
■Specifications: 48 pages in double-page format (vertical) + 2 separate part scores, 20 pages each
■Price: ¥3,000 each (tax included)
https://hats.jp/discography/pianotrio-adagiovol1/
https://hats.jp/discography/pianotrio-adagiovol2/
[NH&K TRIO Profile]
This superb ensemble, consisting of violinist Taro Hakase, pianist Yukie Nishimura, and cellist Hiroki Kashiwagi, talks about their lives through music. The three, who have known each other since their student days, formed a trio in 2019 while participating in the HATS label run by Taro Hakase and each working as a frontline artist. Recording began in 2020 after holding a summer resort music concert at the Yatsugatake Kogen Music Hall.
On March 22, 2023, they released their first album, "Adagio". Based on this release, they launched into full swing as NH&K TRIO, separate from their solo activities. In April 2023, they held the "Taro Hakase Concert Tour 2023 Super Chamber Music ~Adagio~".
The new song "moderato" will be released digitally on March 27, 2024. The "Taro Hakase Concert Tour 2024 NH&K TRIO Super Chamber Music ~moderato~" will be held from April 5.