On May 31, 2026, I heard the Kaoruko Igarashi & Shigenori Kudo Duo Recital at Clara Saal Juroku Ongakudo in Gifu, and this is a record of reconstructing that profound emotion as a photo collection of 108 images taken at Mount Kinka.
Using Dvořák’s Sonatina from the Takagi Riko Channel, I write about the emotion of the great performance by Shigenori Kudo’s flute, the depth of Dvořák’s music, and the consummate artistry with which Kaoruko Igarashi produces the sound of Dvořák when she plays Dvořák.
Takagi Riko’s performance is a magnificent performance that recalls the profound emotion of yesterday’s great performance by Kudo’s flute.
When I was listening to this piece, inwardly, I was shedding floods of tears.
I thought to myself, Dvořák is truly wonderful.
When Kaoruko Igarashi plays Dvořák, she produces the sound of Dvořák—it is no exaggeration to call this consummate artistry.

May 31, 2026.
I went to hear the Kaoruko Igarashi & Shigenori Kudo Duo Recital held at Clara Saal Juroku Ongakudo in Gifu.
Readers of “The Turntable of Civilization” know that I sometimes write that I am “Nobunaga living in the present age,” or “Kūkai living in the present age.”
However, today was the first day I had ever visited Gifu.
It is a small hall with 108 seats, but the height of the ceiling, the fine quality of the wood used, and the excellence of the construction—naturally, it was a hall with superb acoustics.
It was a historic performance.
It is no exaggeration at all to say that Kaoruko Igarashi’s piano has already reached the level of a world-class master, a truly magnificent master.
I will write later about the greatness of her piano.
Today was the first time I had heard Shigenori Kudo’s flute.
I was astonished from the very first note.
As readers know, when I was a high school student—especially in my third year of high school—I spent my days listening to NHK-FM every day.
In those days, I often listened to the flute as well.
Jean-Pierre Rampal and Aurèle Nicolet were the two great pillars.
The latter, in particular, was truly wonderful.
While listening today, that suddenly came back to me.
As his career shows, Mr. Kudo is now, without question, one of the very highest figures in the world.
And yet, even today’s historic performance is something that almost all of the Japanese people today can neither know about nor hear.
While day after day, programs such as wide shows on all TV stations—the very height of stupidity and hypocrisy—are poured into living rooms.
It is no exaggeration at all to say that 99 percent of Japanese people do not know about the historic classical music performances that are being given day and night, every day, in the world’s finest concert halls located throughout Japan.
The program on May 31:
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Chopin: Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat major, op. 53, “Heroic”
Liszt: Réminiscences de Don Juan, S.418/R.228
Mozart: Flute Sonata in A major, K.305, originally Violin Sonata No. 22
Dvořák: Sonatina in G major, op. 100
Encore
Debussy: Beau Soir
Ravel: Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré
Respighi: Six Pieces, No. 1, Valse caressante
It was a historic performance that began with the Prelude from Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier, played in a way that was in no way inferior to Pollini.
For this photo collection, I used Dvořák’s Sonatina in G major for piano and violin: the first and second movements,
from the Takagi Riko Channel.
The number of photographs is 108.
The length is 10 minutes and 6 seconds.
Takagi Riko’s performance is a magnificent performance that recalls the profound emotion of yesterday’s great performance by Kudo’s flute.