From Past to Future: Salvation of the Soul and Hymn to Life — Day 1 of Mukawa's 'Beethoven the Innovator' Recital Tour
The emotion is profound...
It was music of salvation for the soul. Beethoven's life was filled with much suffering, and perhaps there was the agony of creating music, but I feel that music was joy for him, and he must have been driven by a strong will and impulse to write—that he had to write, that he wanted to write. He must have comforted and saved his own heart by writing these pieces. Sonata No. 32 is said to be like his last will and testament, but it doesn't feel like something that senses the shadow of death; rather, it sounds like a hymn to life, to the preciousness of living after overcoming suffering. What incredible music this is. 😭😭✨️✨️
While listening to Mukawa's performance, I thought about Beethoven.
Mukawa's was a new Beethoven I had never heard before!! Perhaps this is because Mukawa, who has studied early music and is knowledgeable about period instruments, played with an awareness of the era even while using a modern piano. I believe today's performance by Mukawa was one that, while firmly grasping the past in that way, also...
breathed life into the history of music that connects Beethoven's innovation to the Romantic era and contemporary music,
and furthermore, it was a performance that vividly made one feel the heart-trembling emotion that Beethoven's great universality—that is, the idea that no matter how much time passes, his music will continue to save, comfort, and encourage human souls for eternity!!!!✨️✨️
The first movement of Sonata No. 14 'Moonlight' was a mental landscape wandering through darkness, with outlines blurring like mist, and I could keenly feel Beethoven's loneliness... In contrast, the minuet was lively. What surprised me was the third movement. He played this piece, which often tends to become cluttered with too many notes, with quiet passion, quiet impatience, and quiet urgency. It was convincing enough to make me think this might be how it sounded on instruments of that time.
Schumann's 'Flower Piece' had a gentle, somewhat wet tone,
and as Mukawa says, Sonata No. 28, which opened the door to the Romantic era, especially to Schumann, and this Schumann piece certainly resonate with each other. After a fantastical introduction, the third movement—I also feel the vitality of life in this fugue. Mukawa, what a wonderful sense of exhilaration!!✨️✨️
Second half)
Lachenmann is, in contrast, dry and hard, but the reverberations and overtones dominate the space like living things, which is very interesting. The variety of Mukawa's tone colors!!! Of the three elements of music—rhythm, melody, and harmony—this piece seems to have only rhythm left, but Mukawa says he feels the influence of Beethoven in this piece. 🤔 I don't quite understand it, and I need to study more here 🥲
Sonata No. 32. Mukawa had taken some time after sitting in the chair before starting to play until then, but this time, he started playing as soon as he sat down! In this first movement, where I felt a stern and firm will, Mukawa's expression was also stern, and I saw many of those familiar expressions where his cheek muscles tremble 💖 The fugue here also had a wonderful layered depth!!!!
In contrast, the second movement Arietta. The dozens of measures until the rhythm begins to move... the way Mukawa plays is enough to make one cry 🥹😭 Perhaps reflecting Beethoven's heart, it felt like he was lost in thought, hesitating, wandering through the darkness...
I felt deeply that perhaps Beethoven wrote this for his own salvation, and I couldn't stop my tears...
And the exhilaration after the rhythm starts moving!!
The divinity of ascending to a spiritual height from the finale, where heavenly sounds like falling light and inner agony intersect ✨️✨️✨️✨️
Mukawa's deep bass that sounded like it was coming from the bottom of the earth and the brilliant yet serene high notes that cleansed the heart ✨️✨️ Even after the actual sound faded, some invisible beauty existed there, and everyone was completely immersed in the lingering resonance.....
Finally, Mukawa stands up. The applause of the audience, who gradually returned to reality, spreads like a wave. Acclaim and bravos, a standing ovation ✨️✨️💖💖
The depth of emotion from No. 32 was so great that I felt as if nothing more could be added (as an encore)!!!
He himself, having given his all, seemed to feel that way too... 🥹🥹 But, in response to the applause, he played the second movement of 'Pathétique'. It was an encore appropriate for the occasion, one that seemed to soothe the immense greatness and weight of No. 32. 🥹🥹
Mukawa says he still doesn't understand Beethoven, but today's performance was played as if it were his own words, naturally, as his heart desired... He must have been facing Beethoven for a long, deep time... ✨️🥹
Anyway, it was just too amazing, and in a sense (a good sense), I was overwhelmed; I almost feel like I don't want to put it into words, and I even thought I didn't want to go home and wanted to wander somewhere. That was the extent of the emotion... But I am writing this here because I must preserve this feeling.
BRAVOOOOOO✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️
November 13, 2025 Aichi Prefectural Art Theater Concert Hall
Keigo Mukawa Piano Recital 'Beethoven the Innovator'
※ On the first day of the tour, I only wrote about my emotional impressions and didn't write much about the recital's concept, 'Beethoven the Innovator,' but the tour is just beginning. I want to think about what kind of evolution and deepening Mukawa will achieve, along with the tour theme.
On the day, there was a talk about the thoughts put into the title of this recital. The following is a summary based on my free translation? 🥲🙇
'Thank you for coming today. I am happy because this is a hall I have admired since I was a child, but today I will play music so great that such personal thoughts seem insignificant.
Beethoven is classified as a Classical composer, but he was an innovative composer who opened the path to the Romantic era. Until then, music was written 'upon request (or while employed),' but he pursued the expression of personal emotions.
The 28th, played in the first half, seems to have opened the door to the Romantic era, especially to Schumann.
The 32nd, which I will play in the second half, makes me feel the path from the Romantic era to contemporary music. Some people might feel a solid constructiveness when they think of Beethoven, but I think he was someone who broke down those walls of composition. I also feel the influence of Beethoven in the Lachenmann piece I will play today.
Today, please enjoy these pieces where Beethoven paved the way with a strong will to break down established frameworks.'