This work was created as my own preparation for hearing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 performed by Rina Nakano in Nagoya on June 26.
The music is Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1.
The performance used here is by Himari and the New Japan Philharmonic.
The performance time is 26 minutes and 30 seconds.
The photographs were taken at Nagai Botanical Garden on June 4, June 7, and June 10.
Among them, June 10 was an especially beautiful day, when the hydrangeas and Japanese irises had begun to move toward full bloom.
On that day, moreover, something happened that may truly be called the greatest miracle in my entire history of photography.
I was completely absorbed in photographing the hydrangea garden as it was moving toward full bloom.
Then, right before my eyes, a newt appeared on top of an especially magnificent large pink hydrangea blossom.
The newt and I gazed at each other for an unbelievably long time.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is a photograph I will never be able to take again.
In addition, a grey heron also appeared in a truly miraculous scene.
The colors of the flowers.
The atmosphere of the waterside.
The light of early summer.
Hydrangeas and Japanese irises moving toward full bloom.
A newt appearing on top of a large pink hydrangea blossom.
And the quiet figure of the grey heron.
June 10 at Nagai Botanical Garden formed what I can call the finest collection of photographs I have taken there so far.
Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 is one of the great masterpieces among Romantic violin concertos, possessing a special nobility and passion.
The deep call of the first movement.
The prayer-like beauty of the second movement.
The uplift and brilliance of the third movement.
Throughout the entire work, there is the power of young life spreading its wings.
This time, I placed this music together with hydrangeas, Japanese irises, waterside scenes, the newt, and the figure of the grey heron as they approached their fullest beauty.
This is not merely a record of the season.
It is because the moment when nature is about to open most abundantly, and the youthful passion, pure song, and noble vitality of Bruch’s music, came together naturally within me.
Himari’s violin vividly brings out the freshness, dignity, and soaring quality contained in this concerto.
The New Japan Philharmonic also receives that young talent and gives the whole music a rich breadth.
Before hearing Rina Nakano’s Bruch in Nagoya on June 26, I wanted to enter the world of this concerto together with my own photographs.
The hydrangeas, Japanese irises, newt, and grey heron of Nagai Botanical Garden.
And Bruch’s Violin Concerto.
This work is my own preparatory work, born from the meeting of those two worlds.
Location: Nagai Botanical Garden
Dates photographed: June 4, June 7, and June 10
Music: Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1
Performance: Himari / New Japan Philharmonic
Performance time: 26 minutes 30 seconds
A preparatory work for the Nagoya concert on June 26.