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It was about a year ago in Hong Kong when pianist Jon Nakamatsu found himself surrounded by several teen-age musicians watching him wrap up two hours of intense practice. Grabbing audiences
by the handBy Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin
These Asian Youth Orchestra hopefuls were as amazed by Nakamatsu's small hands as by the sound they produced. Even when the 1997 Van Cliburn competition winner stood to leave, several youths stared in disbelief at the musician's hands.
"I could never be Michael Jordan," Nakamatsu joked to a Vietnamese boy wearing a Chicago Bulls T-shirt.
To quip that the former German teacher's playing is a stretch is actually true. When he places an open hand over piano keys, he comes up about a quarter-inch short of most of his counterparts.
"It just means I have to move my fingers really, really fast," he said.
Nakamatsu, who lives in San Jose, Calif., is no stranger to Hawaii's classical music lovers. He will perform works by Chopin, Szymanowski Clementi, DeBussy and Liszt tomorrow night at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Nakamatsu -- whose playing has been praised as being "technically secure," with clear, ringing tones, accurate and careful articulation -- is the first American to win the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition since 1981. Among his prizes were two years of career management and international concert engagements, a solo recording distributed worldwide on the Harmonia Mundi label, and a recital debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
In 1998, Nakamatsu was named Debut Artist of the Year by National Public Radio's "Performance Today." He also is featured in "Playing with Fire," a documentary about the 10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition that began airing nationwide in 1997 on PBS.
Nakamatsu's hands may be small for someone in his line of work, but he's less concerned about that than his frenetic schedule. This year, he'll perform 80 concerts in the United States, Europe and Asia -- 16 concerts in 21 days from Alaska to New York City -- beginning a few days after Hawaii.
There is an up side to the hectic life.
"Even without practicing, other things improve from just playing night after night, largely due to the audience or the piano or just your feeling about the moment," he said. "It's interesting because I can actually see a progression, what you like and what you want to work on."
He's learning "to focus on the present."
"What matters is what's going on stage at that moment; to enjoy that, experience the now," he said.
This is not always easy. There have been times when Nakamatsu has arrived in the middle of the night in small European towns with no one to greet him. Then there was the rushed trip to Chicago when his luggage failed to arrive, forcing him to perform in jeans and white shirt instead of a tuxedo.
"I've done some of my best work under the most stressful conditions," he said.
But the most stressful time for Nakamatsu are those few minutes prior to a performance. "It's a countdown and there have been moments when I've thought about bolting through the door," he said, although he has learned to to use the anxiety to his advantage.
"One of the best things about performing is you never know exactly how you're going to feel," he said. "Not until you take that first step on stage."
On stage
What: "An evening with Jon Nakamatsu
By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin
It was about a year ago in Hong Kong when pianist Jon Nakamatsu found himself surrounded by several teen-age musicians watching him wrap up two hours of intense practice.
These Asian Youth Orchestra hopefuls were as amazed by Nakamatsu's small hands as by the sound they produced. Even when the 1997 Van Cliburn competition winner stood to leave, several youths stared in disbelief at the musician's hands.
"I could never be Michael Jordan," Nakamatsu joked to a Vietnamese boy wearing a Chicago Bulls T-shirt.
To quip that the former German teacher's playing is a stretch is actually true. When he places an open hand over piano keys, he comes up about a quarter-inch short of most of his counterparts.
"It just means I have to move my fingers really, really fast," he said.
Nakamatsu, who lives in San Jose, Calif., is no stranger to Hawaii's classical music lovers. He will perform works by Chopin, Szymanowski Clementi, DeBussy and Liszt tomorrow night at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Nakamatsu -- whose playing has been praised as being "technically secure," with clear, ringing tones, accurate and careful articulation -- is the first American to win the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition since 1981. Among his prizes were two years of career management and international concert engagements, a solo recording distributed worldwide on the Harmonia Mundi label, and a recital debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
In 1998, Nakamatsu was named Debut Artist of the Year by National Public Radio's "Performance Today." He also is featured in "Playing with Fire," a documentary about the 10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition that began airing nationwide in 1997 on PBS.
Nakamatsu's hands may be small for someone in his line of work, but he's less concerned about that than his frenetic schedule. This year, he'll perform 80 concerts in the United States, Europe and Asia -- 16 concerts in 21 days from Alaska to New York City -- beginning a few days after Hawaii.
There is an up side to the hectic life.
"Even without practicing, other things improve from just playing night after night, largely due to the audience or the piano or just your feeling about the moment," he said. "It's interesting because I can actually see a progression, what you like and what you want to work on."
He's learning "to focus on the present."
"What matters is what's going on stage at that moment; to enjoy that, experience the now," he said.
This is not always easy. There have been times when Nakamatsu has arrived in the middle of the night in small European towns with no one to greet him. Then there was the rushed trip to Chicago when his luggage failed to arrive, forcing him to perform in jeans and white shirt instead of a tuxedo.
"I've done some of my best work under the most stressful conditions," he said.
But the most stressful time for Nakamatsu are those few minutes prior to a performance. "It's a countdown and there have been moments when I've thought about bolting through the door," he said, although he has learned to to use the anxiety to his advantage.
"One of the best things about performing is you never know exactly how you're going to feel," he said. "Not until you take that first step on stage."
On stage
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