pianomania: 31ST SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL: KYOKO HASHIMOTO Piano Recital / Review

31ST SINGAPORE

INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL:

KYOKO HASHIMOTO IN RECITAL

Victoria Concert Hall

Friday (27 June 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 June 2025 with the title "Kyoko Hashimoto's recital a masterclass in sound, colour and nuance".

Japanese pianist Kyoko Hashimoto, originally listed to perform at the Singapore International Piano Festival in 2022 but had to cancel because of Covid, finally made her belated debut here. Her recital, comprising mostly short 20th century works and reminiscent of Frenchman Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s recital in 2023, was a revelation.

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)

The first half was wholly devoted to preludes by French composers, beginning with three of Gabriel Faure’s Nine Preludes (Op.103) dating from 1909-10. The rarity of these miniatures were matched by the masterclass of sound, colour and nuance provided by Hashimoto. Late Faure is elusive because of chromaticisms and paucity of outright melody, but she made one listen with intent.

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

Following these, three of Olivier Messiaen’s Eight Preludes (1928-29), each carrying descriptive French titles, became far less forbidding. These were essentially extrapolations of Claude Debussy’s sonic palette into the future, and with the imagination piqued, Instants defunts (Departed Moments) simply evoked sorrow and regret.

Photo: Clive Choo

Bell-like registers and frequently altering rhythms in Les sons impalpables du reve (Impalpable Sounds of a Dream) were made to sound catchy and inviting, while Cloches d’angoisses et larmes d’adieu (Bells of Anguish and Tears of Farewell) took hurt feelings and frazzled emotions to another level.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

The selections from Debussy’s First Book of Preludes (1909-1910) were the evening’s most familiar music. Most impressionist and atmospheric was Sounds and Scents Mingle in the Evening Air, its feel of mysticism contrasted with the infectious tarantella rhythm of The Hills of Anacapri. The build-up for The Engulfed Cathedral was epic in Hashimoto’s hands, while The Dance of Puck provided moments of comedy which considerably lightened the proceedings.

Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996)

The recital’s second half opened with Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu’s most famous piano work, Rain Tree Sketch II (1992), composed in memory of Messiaen. Hashimoto’s very deliberate approach to this tribute strongly aligned with the earlier idioms encountered.

Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)

Coming as a jolt to the system was iconoclastic French modernist Pierre Boulez’s 12 Notations (1945), atonal aphorisms 12 bars long and each lasting less than a minute. Extremes of dynamics were exploited, including fists slamming clusters on the keyboard, all guaranteed to shock but not long enough to cause lasting offense.

Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)

All this made Polish composer Karol Szymanowski’s early Etude in B flat minor (Op.4 No.3) sound old-fashioned which, like Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C sharp minor (Op.3 No.2), chagrined the composer with its over-popularity.

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)

The recital’s only extended and earliest work was Russian Alexander Scriabin’s First Sonata in F minor (Op.6) from 1892. Hashimoto was the ever-resourceful guide through its four movements which headed inexorably to ultimate tragedy, with a plodding a funeral march as its conclusion. The pleasing symmetry forged with American pianist Kate Liu’s performance of Chopin’s Funeral March Sonata the previous evening was purely coincidental.

Hashimoto’s two encores provided pure respite: the lyricism of Scriabin’s Prelude in C sharp minor (Op.11 No.9) and melancholic lilt of Chopin’s Mazurka in A minor (Op.17 No.4).