In today’s world, it seems that as violin music has fallen from the spotlight, it has diminished to a small clique of avid fans.
Fortunately it has not fallen any further than this! That small clique of fans keeps the embers lit so that we can all enjoy their talent.
A violinist today must struggle against not only the difficulty of playing this beautiful instrument, but also the difficulty to find an active, vibrant audience willing to support their talent.
One of those special artists who has found a large audience is Taro Hakase of Japan. This year he celebrates his 20th year as a performing artist. And today we had the pleasure to be entertained by him at NHK Hall in Shibuya.
Taro Hakase has found his niche and it is a young vibrant plethora of the masses. At first I thought it might just be the hype that brought so many people together. But after being a part of his show (from the audience ) I am convinced there is much more at work here.
Taro’s music spreads the gamut of formats and bounds across generes the way Superman leaps tall buildings in a single bound.
Through skillful arrangement of piano, bass, wind instruments, keyboard, percussion, synthesizers, and a dazzling light show, interspersed with crowd involvement, clapping, dancing, and yes even singing by the crowd, Taro takes the performance above and beyond merely ‘enjoying’ or ‘listening’ to music into that special destination known as entertainment! He is an extraordinary entertainer who knows it is more than just notes that strike a chord. In his own words, he wants to set your heart to vibrato.
In today’s concert he pitched his new CD and DVD heavily but with a flair for enthusiasm that made his blatent sales pitch almost humble and something you looked forward to between songs.
He must be doing something right! After two nearly non-stop hours of music and pure entertainment he had whipped the crowd into a frenzy–by the end of the concert he had every one of the 3,500 people in the packed house standing, clapping, dancing, and begging for more…He left the stage and walked back in with 60 kids playing his latest project, Himawari.
You can hear Himawari twice a day everyday on the NHK drama Teppan as this is the theme song for the program.
And in full disclosure I must mention that my son was one of the fortunate kids who managed to play in the surprise encore on stage in front of those 3,500 eager spectators.
A great entertainer. Taro Hakase.
Thank you Taro. And Merry Christmas!
D
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