Concert Preview | Singapore Chamber Music Festival 2024: Aoi Trio
Jointly organised by re:Sound Collective and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, the Singapore Chamber Music Festival (SCMF) celebrates the dynamic energy and intimate beauty of chamber music. This year, the SCMF also introduces the Chamber Music Academy, providing expert coaching and performance opportunities for selected amateur chamber groups of all ages and abilities.
Top musicians from the UK, USA, Japan and Singapore perform in a line-up of festival concerts from 27 January to 3 February, with the first being Japan’s Aoi Trio. Founded in 2016, the Aoi Trio – comprising Kyoko Ogawa (violin), Yu Ito (cello), and Kosuke Akimoto (piano) – was awarded the first prize in the 2018 ARD Music Competition in Munich, Germany. Aileen Tang has a chat with them and learns how three musicians with very different personalities spark musical chemistry.
The Flying Inkpot: Can you tell us how the three of you came together to form a trio?
Aoi Trio: We met first at the Chamber Music Academy of Suntory Hall Tokyo in 2014, but we did not play piano trio together there – even though our current agent was an administration staff of the Academy at that time. We later found out that we were all born and grew up in the Kansai area (mid-western part of Japan), and thought that it would be so nice to hold a concert together in our home town in the future.
We formed our piano trio for a chamber music class at the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2016, and we were given the name “AOI Trio (葵三重奏団)” when we appeared at our first concert in Kansai.
TFI: What are your personalities like and how do they complement each other when you play together?
Kosuke Akimoto (piano): I think I’m an objective personality, just as is the pianist’s role in chamber music. It is very interesting and helpful that string players can give me ideas that a pianist might not consider.
Kyoko Ogawa (violin): I guess my personality is easy-going and if anything, optimistic. Kosuke is reliable and independent. Yu is very humble and smart. I think it is very good to dig into musical things because we can think from many perspectives thanks to our different personalities.
Yu Ito (cello): Honestly, I would say – as like many Japanese people – I’m not proactive. So I really appreciate the music-making of my colleagues. But I’m contributing to my trio too when we are rehearsing, holding the same responsibility for the music.
TFI: How would you describe the relationship between the three of you, off-stage?
Akimoto: We don’t share much of our private life together; I think we maintain a good distance. Of course, sometimes we would go to a cafe after rehearsal or cook together.
Ogawa: I think we maintain some personal space. We don’t hang out together on our days off. But during rehearsals and tours, we talk so much (sometimes too much) and eat together. I think [the balance] is a good way to continuing our friendship.
Ito: We respect each other’s private lives, so we rarely share our time other than Aoi trio activities. However, during the rehearsal, we talk not only about the music but also about many things that happen in our lives. It is a very important process for us to agree on a mutual perspective of the music. Sometimes we spend almost all the time in a rehearsal chatting and discussing.
TFI: Why is chamber music an essential part of every musician’s development?
Akimoto: I consider chamber music to be the basis of music. When you play solo works, you have to play many voices with polyphonic perspective which can be trained through chamber music. And we can say an orchestra is like a big chamber music ensemble in which dozens of musicians need to perform together.
Studying and playing chamber music definitely helps your whole music life.
Ogawa: Chamber music [teaches you] the basics of music – especially for string players who quite often play with someone else. Seiji Ozawa, who is one of the most famous conductors in the world, also insisted that orchestra musicians need to study chamber music to develop their orchestral playing. That’s why he established the Seiji Ozawa International Academy in Switzerland.
Through chamber music study, we can learn how one’s spontaneous performance influences others. You are required to listen to your sound and that of your colleagues very carefully. These skills are also required in any kind of music.
Ito: During chamber music rehearsals, you can hear a lot of valuable opinions from your colleagues, and you can learn a lot from them. Sharing your opinions is a good opportunity to put your thoughts into words. You are able to notice your own bad habits, and to overcome them when performing together.
TFI: What is each of your favourite chamber works and why?
Akimoto: My favourite work is Schubert’s second trio. I think it is an impeccable work with perfect structure, harmony and spirituality. We studied it for the first time for the ARD competition and we hope to play it a lot more.
Ogawa: My favourite chamber music are works by Brahms. He composed so many good chamber music [works] with piano. But to be honest, the best music of all music are Beethoven’s string quartets because they really represent “human life”.
Ito: I like Schubert’s chamber music works such as his piano trios and string quintet. When I play the cello, I am often moved by his simple and lyrical melodies and unexpected key changes.
TFI: You have won awards and performed all over Japan and internationally. What has been the most challenging part of this journey?
Akimoto: It was hard for me to develop a lot of new repertoire. We hadn’t played a lot of works before the ARD competition, so we studied many works after the competition.
Ogawa: Before we won the ARD competition, we didn’t have many concerts even in Japan. Therefore, we didn’t know how to programme concerts for a season. So sometimes we prepared too many pieces. Nowadays we are improving on those problems a little!
Ito: Finding the sound of Aoi Trio is very rewarding. As a permanent piano trio, we always pay attention to the balance, and by sharing tone color and ideas, we seek an expression that only the Aoi Trio can produce. I think that has led to us winning awards and getting concert engagements.
Festival Concert I: Aoi Trio
Kyoko Ogawa (violin)
Yu Ito (cello)
Kosuke Akimoto (piano)
Sat 27 January 2024, 7.30pm
YST Concert Hall
Programme:
Mozart, Piano Trio No.1, K.254
Toshio Hosokawa, Trio (2013)
Dvořák, Piano Trio No.3, Op. 65
Tickets for Festival Concert I: Aoi Trio can be purchased from https://scmf.bigtix.io/events/SCMF2401
More information about the Singapore Chamber Music Festival can be found at https://www.sgchamberfest.org/
