Interview by Ginnie Liang
“After the Romance” will be performed tonight at 8 p.m. at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) Grand Auditorium, and Japanese-American violinist Mayumi Kanagawa spoke with the Post on Wednesday about her experience of performing in Asia outside Japan for the first time.
The concert, co-organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Macao Orchestra (MO) and Macau’s six integrated resorts (IR) operators, is one of the concerts of the Macao Orchestra 2023-24 Season, according to a recent IC statement.
Under the baton of conductor Yoel Levi, the concert will present the works of 20th century Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) and US composer Samuel Barber (1910-1981), featuring Kanagawa, according to the statement.
In the interview on Wednesday, Kanagawa said she was excited to travel and perform in different places in the world again after the COVID-19 pandemic, and she pointed out that Macau is the first place that she is performing outside Japan in Asia, and it’s also the first time she’s been to Macau.
She acknowledged that the pieces that she will play are “difficult”, as the tempo is “so fast from beginning to the end”, which she also described as “not so easy for the orchestra to put together.”
She also said she enjoys playing with the Macao Orchestra, adding that she appreciated how the young artistes collaborate with each other. She encouraged young musicians to keep learning new pieces to gain more knowledge from new composers.
She finished the interview with a quote by Jewish-Russian-American violinist Jascha Heifetz: “If I don’t practise one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.”
Tickets for the concert are still on sale, with prices ranging from 150 patacas to 300 patacas, and can be bought at the Macau Ticketing Network. One can also contact the 24-hour ticketing hotline on 2855 5555 or visit the ticketing website at www.macauticket.com.
Japanese-American violinist Mayumi Kanagawa poses after an interview with the Post on Wednesday at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM). – Photo: Ginnie Liang
