Himari Yoshimura

I first heard her play five years ago.
I stumbled upon her while scrolling through YouTube recommendations on my smartphone.
She is 13 years old now, but back then she was only eight...

Even through the cheap sound leaking from the small “hole” of my smartphone, it was filled with enough power and expressiveness to make a person cry, and I couldn't believe for a second that it was being played by an eight-year-old child.

A long time ago, when the great master Isaac Stern visited Japan, there was a TV program where boys and girls called geniuses from all over Japan performed for him.
They performed impressive techniques for Stern, but his expression gradually clouded over as they simply traced the sheet music of
“world-famous masterpieces” without a single mistake. He then interrupted the performance with these words:

“There is no way a child like this could understand the scenes and emotions the composer put into this. You should only pick up a violin once you are old enough to understand things. Let them play music that a child can understand.”

Both the parents and the program staff were left speechless by this blunt, logical rejection.
At the time, I was also very convinced by his words.

…However.

It was her performance that blew those thoughts away in an instant.
At this competition in Russia, I was struck by the “Zigeunerweisen” played by an eight-year-old girl, and I ended up crying...

The chief judge, that master of the violin, Mr. Zakhar Bron wiped away tears multiple times during her performance.
Like Stern, he had been giving harsh evaluations to children's performances until then, but he left these words after her performance.

“There is a god inside this child!”

Today, she is receiving immense acclaim from all over the world without reservation as the “reincarnation of Mozart,” and last month she was finally invited as a soloist for the Berlin Philharmonic. There is no precedent for a 13-year-old performing with the Berlin Philharmonic.

“She performs with an understanding of the scenes and emotions depicted by the composer that lie behind the sheet music, even better than the composer themselves!”

people are saying, and if she is like this now, what kind of performance will she give when she matures and gains more life experience?
It is terrifying, yet I have high expectations!
Looking back at history, great performers often become great composers, so I believe she will surely become one too.


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Information about her is now overflowing on the web, so please take a look if you are interested.

It is overwhelming.

The header image is from when she was eight, and this is HIMARI now.

America’s Curtis Institute of Music university, which she was accepted into at age 10.

I hope to see her perform live this year, but the tickets sell out in seconds, so it might be difficult...

↓ In this video, there is a scene where the conductor wipes away tears from being so moved.
It is nothing short of astonishing.
(Around 9 minutes and 34 seconds)