6. Present
 
----------- You quit working at Sony Music Group last August and entered Yokohama City Bunka Sinko Zaidan. It is common to change companies to improve career in Europe and the United States, is that the case with you?
 
I can say so in the meaning of improving my status. However because of the large firm I belonged to, and staying with the same company for twenty-seven years, I understood the limits of my position in the company, I mean what I could and [could not do] in the future. At that time, Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama City invited me to participate in their project, so I joined them without hesitation in order to be challenged in a new field.
 
----------- You are executive director of Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall. Whom are you expecting for your audiences?
 
In these three years from the opening of the hall, the main audiences of the project are relatively old people. I’m planning to increase audiences of the younger generation within five years. I also intend to attract various audiences including those who are not fans of classical music in particular, but enjoy the quality of our concerts.
 
----------- In the world of music, some people think ``art and popularity are two different things. Real artists should not want to be popular but just try to enjoy themselves.’’ What do you think?
 

Who says ``you should not want to be popular’’? I don’t dare to speak for all people, but is art that no one is interested is possible? I don’t think so. Talking only about music, there are three elements that music consists of, that is; creation, performance, and listening. At first, the three elements may be achieved personally. However, soon the listening is separated from the other two elements. The first two can be possible by personal activity, but if there is no audience, the excellent creation and performance have no meaning. There is no art that is only for personal use and not expecting an other person’s understanding.

By the way, a certain art, entertainment and culture have their own life cycle. The beginning is the age of creation, for example in music, it was the age from the Renaissance to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Creation and performance is embodied by a person like Bach, for instance, and the audience enjoyed them at the same time. The next period begins the age of Beethoven. The two roles, creator and performer, are separated and the professional performer is established. Around this period, conducting is recognized as a profession. I think classical music was born when the notion of interpretation was established. The age continues until the beginning of the twentieth century. Then the art type’s life is gradually declining. I don’t say this pessimistically, but classical music entered a period of old age many years ago, or perhaps it may be already be dead. What I’m talking about is creation. The performance and interpretation of the music will continue more and more.

 
 
-----------Classical music is dead, it sounds like Nietzche. Isn’t it too harsh in regards to music?
 
What can we do for the dead music? The sophistry ``Real artists should not want to be popular’’ is the exact answer to the question. Some people may say ``What I mean by `popular` is only talking about the masses, and what I want to say is that artists should play for a small number of selected people who understand art.’’ I don’t think so. A small number of selected people is equal to all people. I don’t forget that a genius creator leads other people, because the artist became creator due to his or her superiority over other people. I’m not saying sales are the only value. There are lots of examples of bad products that sold well and good products that sold badly. What I’m saying now is the creator should not retreat to his own shell murmuring ``I don’t care about the sales.’’
 
---------- I see. Then what are you intending to do next?
 
Promoting many good concerts in Minato Mirai Hall and attracting as many people as possible, that’s it.
 
---------- Thank you very much for the long interesting interview. Finally, what is music or art to you?
 
That’s a heavy question. Some people say music is my life. That is not the case for me. I can live without music. Music is not a necessary condition for life. But, I think life without music is boring. I can’t enjoy life without music. I mean, music is not necessary to support our body but it is necessarily to live as a human who has a mind. There are many things other than music. They are fun or play. I am thankful for earning a salary by doing such things. I have been fond of music since my childhood, and I learned to play instruments and perform in bands, orchestras and chamber groups, then I participated in making CDs, to plan concerts and to lecture at seminars. That has been my fifty-year life. I like this life very much.
 
---------- Your life is a kind of model for me. I have a dream myself to not to reinvent but rather to recreate the `dead` classical music as integrating art in the twenty-first century. I’m not yet certain what I can do to make my dreams come true, but I am inspired to work for my dream by this interview. Thank you very much again