The 3rd Music a la Carte was held on Saturday, October 17 at ACT City Seminar and Exchange Center Musical Seminar Room 21.

The theme for this event commemorating the 7th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition was, of course, the piano. Teruhisa Murakami, a piano tuner, and Hironao Suzuki, a pianist, were invited to give a lecture and a performance in the program titled ‘What is a Good Sound?’

Although the turnout was slower than usual due to rainy weather, the hall was filled up a little before the program started. After all, the event -- a combo of lecture by the world-class piano tuner knowing the A to Z of the instrument and performance of the young pianist possessing both artistic merit and popularity -- was too good for the music fans in Hamamatsu to miss just because of some rain.

The superb musical program began with the lecture by Murakami. In his talk, the piano tuner recalled that his pursuit of a good sound led him to the opportunities to meet and work with some of the world’s greatest pianists. A good sound for Michelangeli was a rich sound while for Richter it was a ‘dolce’ sound of the piano. Murakami shared a story of Richter where, when Murakami did not understand what ‘dolce sound’ was like, the pianist brought some very sweet Italian dolce (cake) to explain what he meant by the word. The audience was intrigued with Murakami’s talk sprinkled with unique episodes of musical maestros.

The following part was a lecture on the development of the piano as a musical instrument. The audience listened to some precious recordings of a harpsichord and a piano playing passages from Mozart and Beethoven, trying to tell the difference in tone. Murakami then gave a demonstration of how the sound of music gets distorted by having just one key out of tune. The demonstration introduced us to an instrumental aspect of the piano and a new approach to enjoying piano music.

Suzuki’s performance followed Murakami’s lecture. With his dexterous technique and artistic expression, the young pianist showed different faces to the audience as he played different numbers. The entire audience was fascinated with his music incorporating delicateness, strength and hidden passion behind his calm appearance. Suzuki talked between the numbers but was never distracted until the last number, Prokofiev’s Sonata No.7, which was so dynamic that Murakami commented after the performance that he thought the piano would be smashed down.

After that, Murakami and Suzuki courteously answered the questions from the floor in turn. As they have done similar programs together in the past, they handed the questions in perfect harmony.

When asked what ‘a good sound’ is like for them, Murakami answered that it’s a sound that touches him, and Suzuki said it’s an unrestrained sound which carries as if it flew to every corner of the hall.

Murakami has seen the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition since the first year. He said he enjoys the First Stage the most, although the splendid Final Stage seems to be the most popular. The reason is, Murakami said, at the First Stage the contestants play the same repertoire which often sounds very different depending on the performer. Naturally, after this event, the tickets for the First Stage were selling the best at the Competition ticket counter.

Eleven-year-old Ai Kawamura, who asked the last question in the Q and A session, said that she would go to see the First Stage with her eight-year-old sister, Nana, and her mother, Junko. Ai wishes to participate in the Hamamatsu Competition which has no minimum age limit for entry, but her piano teacher tells her that she has a long way to go. It would be exciting to see how Ai improves in three years when the 8th Competition is to be held.

The competition will finally be opened on November 8th. Why don’t you come to ACT City Concert Hall offering excellent acoustics guaranteed by Murakami to find your own ‘good sound’?