Flowery Performances

 

When Tomoko performs publicly, she is often given flowers. This gesture is a common one for musicians, and shows the audience’s appreciation for the music. Here are some details.

The tradition of giving musical performers started over 150 years ago in European aristocratic courts.

Choice of flowers.

• Long-stemmed red roses are the most traditional bouquet. Pink roses convey thanks, and yellow roses convey friendship.
• Irises are sometime given to young performers, and purple ones are especially favored because they connote admiration.
• Carnations are particularly favored because they last a long time. They represent pride and admiration.
• Lilies can be a somber choice, so as a performance bouquet should probably have bright colors, such as red, orange, yellow and pink which all convey imagination and aspiration. 

·       How to give flowers. It is best to check first with the performance venue to find out what protocols should be observed. Find out what the pianist’s favorite colors are or play it safe with red flowers.  There are several ways to present the flowers: backstage afterwards, in a public area (even the stage if appropriate), having a staff person or event planner present them, or have a floral company deliver them. If you are going to several performances, you might give one flower after each performance, and a bouquet for the final performance.

But don’t give flowers BEFORE the performance as it tempts fate and may bring bad luck!

             

 

Olympican Recitals

                Millions of people watch and read about the Olympics. This time is particularly special for Tomoko and her family because in 2002 her daughter Beata and husband Charles exhibited their ice dancing expertise at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

               In a way, piano recitals mirror that same kind of high-stakes public performance. To motivate students and give them opportunities to perform in public, Tomoko plans recitals twice a year to display her students’ efforts and encourage others to learn how to play the piano for their own enjoyment. As the impresario for her students’ recitals, Tomoko chooses pieces according to each student’s ability, wherever they were on the performance spectrum. She puts together the program with a clear path in mind, and then matches the details, preparing all the music. Tomoko says: “I see myself as a designer and fashioner of the musical program.” It takes up to four months to get ready for the recital. “Students need time to memorize well, but they can’t peak too early,” Tomoko knows by experience. By the time of the performance, everyone is be excited: the students, the parents, and Tomoko herself. The recitals are stimulating, like a good game; all the students try their best. Tomoko concludes: “Recitals are not the time to criticize but rather a time to celebrate, like the holidays.”

Laboring for Love

Today is Labor Day, and Tomoko exemplifies a strong work ethic. Referring to Millet’s painting “Man with a Hoe,” Tomoko notes how the worker holds his body. “He is tired after a day of harvesting. He is braced against a stick to hold himself up.” Tomoko knows the feeling of a long day of hard work.

 

Tomoko has never been afraid of hard work. She began teaching piano lessons as a teenager – and sixty years later she continues to do this, sharing a lifetime of experience and expertise.

 

Tomoko also knows that learning how to play the piano requires dedicated practice and work. When a piece has been mastered, playing it can bring instant gratification, but getting to that point of fluid performance can demand much time and effort, and in the process it can feel as if that day of mastery, those positive results, will never arrive. “Practice is like gardening,” Tomoko asserts. “You need to do it every day and pay attention to all the details.”  She adds, “It requires patience. Sometimes you don’t see the growth for a long time, but it is worth the ongoing effort.” Tomoko remarks, “Many people don’t plan for practice. Since I was 12 years old, I have planned time for practice.” That kind of discipline exemplifies Tomoko’s attitude to music and work.

 

Tomoko also passed this work attitude to her daughter Beata. Beata began serious skating at age 6, but didn’t compete until the U.S. Nationals, rather perfecting her form first. Tomoko supported Beata’s persistent interest throughout the school years, driving her to practice, and paying for lessons through teaching piano. Tomoko notes, “Both ice skating and piano require lots of sacrifice. Even one week without practice will be embarrassing.”

 

Performance requires even more focused work as the pianist – or the ice dancer -- has to analyze and master each piece.  The performer has to over-prepare so that the physical action is almost automatic, and the spirit of the work can be freely expressed. Both the stress level and the level of accomplishment are higher. But the payoff and the exhilarating feeling are worth the effort hopefully. The performer lives for this moment, and is IN that moment. All the components are there, "But reaches a higher energy plane," Tomoko explains. The playing itself is both automatic and intentional, precise and personal, deliberate and freeing. It is ultimately a universal yet intimate conversation with the audience. It is not like daily life. It is a heightened reality. Tomoko asserts, "It can be a mystical experience. An 'out of this world' performance."

 

So work becomes play, play that is hard earned.

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Celebrants of Culture

On May 5, 1997, Tomoko played piano compositions for the poetry of Hojo Nakajima. Singers and musician with Western and Japanese performed her in this evening of music celebration, held at the San Francisco Palace of the Legion of Honor.

Hojo Nakajima was in Fukuoka, Japan, born two years earlier than Tomoko. He was Chamberlain to the Crown Prince and part of the Imperial Household Agency. His first poetry anthology was published in 1990.

The history of  the San Francisco Palace of the Legion of Honor begins earlier in the century. A replica of Paris’s Palaise de la Légion d’Honneur was constructed by the French for the 1915 San Francisco Panama Pacific International Exposition. At the end of the exposition, the French government sugar magnate Adolph Spreckels to build a permanent ¾ sized replica, which was completed in 1924. Spreckel’s wife, Alma, wanted the city to have a new art museum, so the family donated it to the city of San Francisco, in memory of WWI California military casualties. In 1995 the museum was renovated to make it seismic safe, and was enlarged in the process to handle more exhibits and services.

Since the beginning, the museum has been located in Lincoln Park, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. IT collects ancient and European art, and houses the largest collecxtion of works on paper in the western United States. The museum’s Spreckels gallery also contains a symphonic organ, which is played every Saturday for concerts; another space holds the Gunn Theater, which is a venue for chamber music concerts.

Tomoko’s performance was held in that theater, and Tomoko likely saw the original Palaise when she visited Paris as part of her time as a contestant at the Long-Thibaud International Piano Competition, thirty years before her performance at the San Francisco Palace.

All of these people and places reflect celebrated the international world of culture, and we are their beneficiaries.

The Golden Spring of 1965

Spring 1965 was a golden season for Tomoko in her musical life.

In February she was featured on KTVU television channel, playing one of her winning pieces from the San Francisco Symphony Foundation Audition program. She was chosen by Maestro Josef Krips for her impeccible performance.

In the same month she made her Peninsula debut at Foothill College in Appreciation. She was sponsored by Japanese Searking Society of America.

In March she performed with the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra in Roosevelt High School's auditorium. She won the 1965 Young Artists Award, along with baritone David Tenbrook and violinist Kodjian). These awards were made possible by the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra and the Junior League of Fresno.

In April Tomoko performed with two violinists, Kathleen Lenski and Linda Ashworth in San Francisco's Auditorium. Their concert was one of the musical series sponsored by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and its Association Foundation for its members.

Then in June Tomoko played at her own graduation, followed by her graduation recital two weeks later.

This season was indeed propitious, and foretold Tomoko's energy and dedication to the piano. Her spirit has not faded over the years.

A day in a recital

Tomoko has planned another recital concert – this one is today: November 18. It’s very important for her, and she is giving a souvenir to remember the day along with the real-life, real-time unique experience.

What is recital day like?

Tomoko starts this day early, as she does every day, with a light breakfast before dawn. She takes special effort to dress professionally for the performance. She gathers last-minute supplies, and packs her car for her drive through Marin County, over the Golden Gate Bridge, into The City. Tomoko likes to drive at this hour on Sunday, with the highway largely free of traffic.

She holds her recitals and concerts at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, fittingly near the Opera House. Parking is free on Sunday, which the many attenders and performers appreciate, especially since parking can be found at a real premium.  

Hours ahead of concert time, tables are set up for the welcome and reception. Tomoko has a great group of volunteers who bring food and flowers, create the program, take photos, and greet people.

Tomoko spends her time behind the stage, giving advice to her performers, checking with technicians, and dealing with last-minute details. It can be a nerve-wracking time, especially as Tomoko wants the day to be as close to perfect as possible so everyone will experience the height of musical culture. Fortunately, everyone else has the same goal, and that spirit permeates the Conservatory as each  individual contributes to the day’s success.

Throughout the performances people are eager, expectant, delighted, appreciative. Performers receive heartfelt applause and flowers. Enthusiasm continues after the music stops as the audience discusses the music while feasting on homemade and commercial delectable and beverages.  The music truly unites and uplifts.

For Tomoko, it’s a long fulfilling day. She recalls details as she drives home. Tomoko has made this experience possible; it is her gift. 

Keys to Quality

What makes up quality?

“Quality is a constant,” Tomoko asserts. Furthermore, she thinks: “We are born with a sense of quality. Therefore, we need to start with the best taste in music.”

In terms of composition, Tomoko states, “The ingredients of music need to be the best.” For those individuals may have heard similar motifs in different musical pieces, Tomoko muses, “Steal ideas from the best.”

To express that quality requires high-quality performance. As a performer, the pianist needs to interpret the composition as musically authentically as possible.  The performer needs to know the piece well enough that it becomes part of that person’s muscle memory, freeing one to consciously focus on expression. Performers also know that the quality of the piano itself impacts the quality of the performance – and the ability to showcase the composition.

Furthermore, quality refers to piano instruction. Parents should find out about teachers’ reputation. Tomoko recommends, “Try different teachers” to insure the optimum match between the teacher and their children. Students also need a solid performance foundation: with technique and music theory knowledge. Furthermore, students also need to incorporate expression, drawing upon their own experience and empathetic imagination. Tomoko reiterates the importance of quality: “Part of that instruction involves exposing students to the classics to instill formal musical taste.”

When all of these factors are optimized, then quality is optimized. Music is a most human endeavor – and not only elevates sound but humanity itself.

Lizst and his legacy

One of Tomoko’s favorite piano composers is Lizst.  His works enable the performer to showcase technical virtuosity and strong emotional interpretation.

Lizst’s life is certainly reflective in his writing. 

At age seven Lizst started piano lessons from his father, started composing at age eight, and started public performances at age nine. Lizst was a wildly popular performer because of his technical brilliance and intense delivery, which his compositions could showcase. His enthralled audiences led to Lizstomania – and enough income that he could gave away much of his profits to charity. 

Thus, because Lizst was first a performer, his compositions reflect natural hand motions, and are more natural to play. That characteristic enabled Lizst to create works that could maximize kinesthetic ability. Additionally, Lizst was inspired by the violinist Paganin’s technique, and wanted to be as excellent as him, so much so that he wrote a series of etudes based on Paganini’s own violin’s technically challenging compositions. As a result, his compositions are often used by piano teachers to improve students’ technical skills. In fact, Tomoko remarks: “Sometimes a child – or the parent – wants to choose a masterful piece of music, such as a Liszt étude. They want the status of playing such a composition, but it might not be appropriatea at their stage of development. “Their motivation may be to show off,” says Tomoko, “but they will be miserable.” Instead, Tomoko asks the student to try it for themselves. “Then they recognize for themselves what is really involved.” If they really want to put in the effort, Tomoko tells them, “I will prepare this piece for you.” Tomoko explains each part, and then they agree on doing the hard work together. 

Tomoko also likes Lizst for his philosophy and emotional power. Tomoko relates to his spiritual side. “Listen to Liszt’s compositions. His philosophy is so beautiful. He was a very religious man.” While Lizst is not known for religious compositions, he contemplated joining the Catholic clergy in his twenties (after a romantic break-up) and  in late life did join a monastery. 

Lizst’s compositions also capture human emotional life: adapting folk dances and translating human expression, including violence, into  his music. Tomoko asserts: “Lizst is great for pianists in their twenties because they don’t have to think so much as express lots of action.”

Tomoko herself has masterfully performed Lizst’s works over the years. In her 1964 television interview with UCLA Opera Theater director Herbert Jan Popper, Tomoko She Hungarian Rhapsody A minor #11 by Liszt on the show. Almost fifty years later, in 2012, on the show “The Piano Matters with David Dubal,” Tomoko played Liszt’s "Au Lac de Wallenstadt." 

Just as Lizst was inspired by his experiences, Tomoko and her students find inspiration in Lizst for their own lives.

Ways to communicate

Tomoko has several perspectives about communication. Tomoko claims, “Communication is closer if you know the context.” Here are some of those contexts.

“When I arrived in America I didn’t know much English. If people said bad things about me, I didn’t know. That’s how I survived.”

“I don’t tell people that I am a pianist – then I am on the job instead.” On the other hand, Tomoko says, “Several friends of mine are teachers at the Conservatory where we talk together at lunch.”

Talking is important to Tomoko when she teaches. When students just need confidence, Tomoko tells her students, “You can make it.” She will also trick them by saying, “I was worse than you.”

For Tomoko, “Music is conversation. It is a sentence. It is a language.” 

This interaction is special during a performance. Tomoko ponders: “What is the communication between performers and audience? Mysterious.”

She states, “Performance is conversation that is thrown to the audience.” More specifically, Tomoko asserts, “Expression in musical performance communicates.” She also muses, “I hope the audience gets it. I can’t control how they feel.”

It is clear, though, that Tomoko’s music is very articulate.

A Lively Curiosity

One thing that keeps Tomoko young in spirit is her lively curiosity.

As a teenager, Tomoko overlooked the Yokohama harbor, and was curious about the journeys the ships took. And she was curious about visiting other countries herself.

Tomoko continues to carry her curiosity as she travels. For instance, when she visited a museum housed in a Medici residence, Tomoko asked, “May I use your harpsichord? ” She wanted to know how it sounded, and the museum staff answered, “You have to try it.” Tomoko played Bach’s Prelude in C sharp major BWV 848 on this antique instrument. 

That curiosity is well grounded in her music. She continues to learn new pieces of music. “It is like visiting a new city,” she comments. Each city, each piece, has unique features that pique her curiosity. 

Not surprisingly, she also infuses her teaching with that sense of curiosity. Tomoko cautions, “Never say you have no talent; students often don’t know where they are musically.” Instead, Tomoko builds on the child’s curiosity. She will preview a piece of music with the child, and ask, “What do you think comes next? Which part do you like? Isn’t that rhythm interesting?”

Tomoko also thinks that performances should leverage curiosity. She advises her students, “When you go to a recital or other performance venue, remember the importance of first impressions. Be most careful at the start. Keep a little mystery about yourself that will feed people’s curiosity.”

Tomoko concludes. “We need to grow and develop.” In the process, she says, “We need variety.  Audiences and musicians needs novelty.” And that is fueled by curiosity.  It certainly has worked for Tomoko.