[2022.01.07] Number 1043 issue - Artists Talk About the Beauty of Yuzuru Hanyu’s Past Programs

[yuzurujenn]

Info: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09NRG553Z 

 

*Yuzuru Hanyu's performance at the All Japan Championships is featured on the cover and in the lead!
*Also includes the third installment of the popular project, "Artists talk about the beauty of Yuzuru Hanyu's past programs"!
Includes Kyohei Sorita's discussion of "Ballad No. 1," Yasuyuki Shuto's discussion of "White Legend," and Yuzuru Kurenai's discussion of "Romeo and Juliet"!

 

<Featured Content>
[All Japan Championships Report] Yuzuru Hanyu
"To the Crystal Stage"

 

[Representatives Decided!]
What are his chances of winning his first medal in the Olympic team competition?

[The highest level of difficulty, prepared for risk] Shoma Uno
"Going 'beyond' my limits"

 

[Seizing new ground]
Yuma Kagiyama "As a precocious challenger"

 

[The struggles of a world champion]
Nathan Chen "My chances of victory lie in my past self"

 

[Maturity since the PyeongChang Olympics]
Kaori Sakamoto "I'm prepared to do something different than I did four years ago"

 

[Midori Ito unravels]
The lineage of Japan's women's triple axel:
Midori Ito/Yukari Nakano/Mao Asada/Rika Kihira/Wakaba Higuchi/Manaka Kawabe

 

[Akiko Suzuki talks about the astonishing perfection]
Kamila Valieva: "A ballerina who can do quadruple jumps"

 

[Towards a new era of prosperity]
"The secret to Japan's leap in ice dance"

 

[Cheers from Narumi Takahashi]
Rika Miura & Ryuichi Kihara: "The strongest and most harmonious pair"

 

[Takeshi Honda explains the three free programs]
Yuzuru Hanyu's Olympic program evolution

 

[Popular feature]
Artists talk about the beauty of Yuzuru Hanyu's programs
● Kyohei Sorita x "Ballade No. 1"
● Yasuyuki Shuto x "White Legend"
● Yuzuru Kurenai x "Romeo and Juliet"

 

[yuzurujenn]

*Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation. Inaccuracies exist*

 

2022.01.07

 

Source: https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/851560?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220107102254/https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/851560?page=1

 

 

Top ballet dancer testifies to "Yuzuru Hanyu's beauty at 27" - "Maybe it's the same for Hanyu" - The day he was seriously injured during ballet and was brought to tears

 

　Following the All Japan Championships at the end of last year, the figure skaters representing Japan at the Beijing Olympics were decided. The currently on sale Number 1043 issue features a special feature on figure skating, looking back at the Beijing Olympics season so far for the representative skaters, including Yuzuru Hanyu, who achieved a stunning victory at the All Japan Championships.

 

　Also included in the issue is an interview with ballet dancer Yasuyuki Shuto, in the section "Artists Talk About the Beauty of Yuzuru Hanyu’s Past Programs." He shared his impressions of watching Hanyu's past performance of "White Legend." This article introduces content that could not be included in the magazine.

 

Spoiler

Yasuyuki Shuto, a ballet dancer who has performed lead roles with the prestigious Tokyo Ballet Company and set the world ablaze with Maurice Béjart’s personally selected “Boléro,” continues to express himself at the forefront today. He once took the stage in Matthew Bourne’s production of “Swan Lake,” performing both the lead roles of the “White Swan” and the “Prince.”

 

In the currently available issue of Number, he talks about Yuzuru Hanyu’s program “White Legend,” connected by the theme of “swan.” Here, I’d like to share some of the stories that couldn’t fit into the magazine.

 

Injuries are an inevitable part of being a ballet dancer. It’s an unfortunate commonality they share with figure skaters.

 

Shuto also experienced a serious injury of a torn ligament in his foot during a performance. It happened while he was dancing the role of the “Swan” in Swan Lake.

 

“It was during a performance in France, and at the end of the solo in Act 2, I heard a snap!” he recalls. He tried to push through, but soon found himself unable to move and just standing still. His partner helped him offstage, and he was rushed to the hospital immediately. He remained in costume and makeup. From Act 3 onward, other dancers took over the performance.

 

At the hospital, the swelling made it impossible to remove his costume, so they had to cut it off with scissors. It was only then that the gravity of the injury hit him, and tears came to his eyes.

 

Listening to his story, I couldn’t help but think of Yuzuru Hanyu.

 

"It might be the same for Hanyu."

 

In figure skating, there are no substitutes. If Hanyu falters, it directly affects his results. In ballet, however, there’s always another dancer waiting in line to take the lead role. The world at the top is drastic. From either perspective, it’s a blessing if one can avoid going through such hardships.

 

“At that time, I was performing around 150 shows a year. It felt like sheer physical exhaustion. I hardly ever took the time to really listen to my body or 'have a conversation' with it during those 17 or 18 years.”

 

He’s had many minor injuries in the past. But when on stage, Shuto explains, “somehow my mind took control over my body and made me do things that I normally wouldn’t have been able to do.” In other words, he just kept going despite everything.

 

Of course, being able to do that was the result of daily practice, youth, and probably some good luck as well. “Maybe Hanyu-san is the same,” he added.

 

Since then, he began to listen more carefully to his body.

 

“I started thinking of myself and my body as two separate entities. Of course, they’re really one person (laughs), but it’s like a couple, two people in a relationship. Constantly talking: ‘How are you today?’ ‘Feeling okay?’ ‘How’s it going?’ ‘Are you well?’ But if you spoil one side too much, the relationship turns sour. Just like in couples, there are times of boredom and tension. Sometimes communication breaks down, sometimes it really clicks. If you pamper too much, the tension disappears; if you’re too harsh, they leave.”

 

He said that the mind and body also need balance. When he suffered the serious injury, that balance was completely lost, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"No one should be giving their opinion."

Ballet dancers and figure skaters live side by side with injury. The more experienced you become, the greater the risk, and the more you need to adjust your way of expressing yourself. I wondered how he approaches that challenge.

 

“I always want to stay aware of what’s happening in the world around me. So I keep my movements light and agile, making sure not to become self-centered and to pay attention to others. Maybe it’s the same in the skating world, but if you get caught up in the small problems within the closed, narrow world of dance, you just keep shrinking yourself. Of course, when I dance the Swan, it’s important to think about Swan Lake itself, but I also try to live with an awareness that there’s a whole lot more out there in the world. When you do that, you start to see many different things, and I think that changes the way you perform the Swan, too.”

 

When I said that sounded like a message to Hanyu himself, he responded like this:

 

“No, no, he’s already doing that. I think he’s been aware of that all along and is managing just fine. What happens next is something only he can decide, it’s not for others to decide. Of course, there are many people who want to keep watching him, but ultimately, it’s up to him. Nobody else should be giving their opinions on it. He makes the decisions, and I believe he understands himself best.”

 

Finally, the editor asked if there was a favorite Hanyu program.

 

“I liked his Sochi short program. Paris! Paris’... ‘Parisienne Walkways.’ His younger days’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was also really good. Those left a strong impression on me.”

 

 

In Number issue 1043, the feature “Artists Talk About the Beauty of Yuzuru Hanyu’s Past Programs” also includes interviews with pianist Kyohei Sorita, who placed second at last year’s Chopin International Piano Competition, discussing the “Ballade No. 1,” and with Yuzuru Kurenai, a former Takarazuka Revue performer now active as an actress, talking about “Romeo and Juliet.” Additionally, this issue is packed with articles reviewing the journeys of the figure skaters representing Japan at the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Be sure to check it out!

 

 

[yuzurujenn]

*Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation. Inaccuracies exist*

 

2022.01.12

 

Source: https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/851595

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220111210627/https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/851595

 

 

World-renowned pianist Kyohei Sorita, 27, talks about the beauty of fellow peer Yuzuru Hanyu: “We’re the same age, so I feel a bit jealous.” “Hanyu truly understands Chopin.”

 

At the end of last year, Yuzuru Hanyu delivered a commanding victory at the All-Japan Figure Skating Championships. In the currently available Number magazine issue 1043, which features a special on figure skating, the performances of Hanyu and the rest of Japan’s national team ahead of the Beijing Olympics are reviewed in detail.

 

In one of the feature articles titled “Artists Talk About the Beauty of Yuzuru Hanyu’s Past Programs,” internationally acclaimed pianist Kyohei Sorita (27), who like Hanyu was born in 1994, shares his impressions, particularly of Hanyu’s performance of Chopin’s Ballade No. 1, one of Hanyu’s signature programs. This article presents extended interview content that didn’t make it into the printed magazine.

 

Spoiler

Back in October, Kyohei Sorita made history by placing second at the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition, tying the highest placement ever by a Japanese pianist. Driven by his desire to convey just how deeply he loves Chopin’s music, Sorita overcame immense pressure to deliver heartfelt, immersive performances.

 

“It was a stage I had dreamed of for 15 years, so it was truly the best,” he said. “It’s like someone who always dreamed of Paris Fashion Week finally walking the runway at Paris Fashion Week.”

 

In the final round, Sorita performed in perfect harmony with the orchestra, concluding his program to a standing ovation and thunderous applause from the audience.

 

That young genius of the classical music world, in the currently available Number figure skating special issue, speaks about one of Yuzuru Hanyu’s signature programs, Chopin’s Ballade No. 1.

 

“We’re the same age, so I feel a little jealous~”

 

Just a few days before the interview, Kyohei Sorita had met Krystian Zimerman, the youngest-ever winner of the 9th Chopin Competition. Zimerman is, in fact, the very pianist whose recording was used in Yuzuru Hanyu’s performance of Ballade No. 1. Even if it was just coincidence, Sorita said he felt a strange kind of connection.

 

“Even though the overall impression is incredibly soft and gentle, there are clearly defined core moments in the piece,” Sorita reflected fondly as he rewatched video footage of Hanyu’s Sochi Olympic performance, the same performance he had first seen eight years ago while studying abroad in Russia.

 

The topic of figure skating, which Sorita describes as “almost like a national sport to Russians,” often came up even during classes at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, where he was studying at the time. Among the many skaters, Yuzuru Hanyu was a well-known name even in Russia.

 

“On one hand, I felt proud. But because we’re the same age, I couldn’t help feeling a bit jealous too,” he said. "Also, the fact that he gets applause from the audience every time he lands a jump… that’s kind of unfair, isn’t it? (laughs) Still, seeing him compete on the world stage like that, it’s honestly just so cool. I can’t help but respect him deeply.”

 

The piece Ballade No. 1, which Hanyu has performed across multiple seasons, was already a well-known composition.

However, Sorita says he’s truly come to feel that Hanyu’s performances have brought the piece to an even wider audience.

 

“That program by Hanyu was what brought classical music to people who had never been interested in it before. I often hear people say, ‘Oh, that’s Hanyu’s music, right?’”

“Hanyu really understands Chopin.”

 

Ballade No. 1, known for its lyrical and beautiful melodies, is one of Chopin’s early masterpieces and the first of his ballades. With its shifts in tempo and tonality, it deeply resonates with listeners. Yet even for pianists, fully grasping and expressing its emotional depth is said to be extremely difficult.

 

“I also study the historical background before performing a piece, and Ballade No. 1 is a dramatic work, filled with recurring turbulence. There’s a part where it shifts from a minor key to a major key. In that moment, Chopin is expressing his upbringing and vision for the future, especially his deep love for his homeland, Poland. Then, in the middle section with its beautiful melody in a major key, he’s conveying the fantasy or idealized image he held of Poland. But by the end, there’s a realization that perhaps it was all just a dream. In the passionate coda, the piece closes with the sense that maybe everything was merely a fantasy. From a pianist’s perspective, that kind of narrative or worldview is something you wouldn’t want to see disrupted, and Hanyu’s performance clearly shows he has a deep understanding of it. You can feel that the editing was carefully thought out too.”

 

Hanyu has not only engaged deeply with composers, but has also pursued expression by closely attuning himself to the sound of the performers themselves.

 

At the 2015 Grand Prix Final, where he set a record high score then, he listened to various pianists’ performances of Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 and chose Krystian Zimerman's rendition as the one that resonated most with him, studying it meticulously.

 

Although time constraints in figure skating programs meant the original music couldn’t be played in full, Hanyu skillfully incorporated key parts to create a highly polished version of Ballade No. 1, a feat that Sorita also acknowledged in his interview with Number magazine.

 

The “Samurai Hair” Is a Carefully Calculated Strategy

Yuzuru Hanyu and Kyohei Sorita were both born in 1994 and are now 27 years old. Each is a leading figure in his respective field. But their similarities go beyond just being the same age and achieving global success.

 

Both have reached the top not only through relentless effort, but also by crafting and executing precise strategies and calculated plans to achieve their goals and grasp success.

 

For example, when preparing to compete in the Chopin Competition, which is held only once every five years (and was delayed a year due to the pandemic), Sorita also developed a meticulous game plan to take on the challenge.

 

“First and foremost, I thought it was important to be memorable. For people overseas, even my name Kyohei seems hard to pronounce. During the competition, right up until they announced me as the second-place winner, they kept calling me ‘Kohei’ (laughs). So I figured, rather than focusing on my name or face, it would be better to leave a strong impression the moment my nationality was announced.”

 

He tied his hair back into a single ponytail, focusing on a hairstyle that would make people remember him as a “samurai.” He also worked on building his body to produce a resonant sound that could fill concert halls.

 

While studying abroad, he was surprised by the difference in piano tone compared to the well-built Russian students, which motivated him to start going to the gym. After beginning strength training to build his core, people began telling him his sound had become louder. He even pushed his body to its limits in pursuit of his ideal sound. He has said he was “a very curious child,” and felt he had to personally experience what kind of sound he could produce if he became more muscular.

 

“I did barbell training that pianists usually don’t do, and I did squats like crazy. But I ended up overdeveloping my biceps, triceps, back muscles, and chest muscles, and my sound became a bit too hard. That wasn’t good. My grandparents’ hands are plump and soft, and it’s actually that kind of softness, the slightly diminished fat and muscle, that allows the music to come through more directly. In other words, it produces a deep and warm sound. That’s what I needed for the Chopin Competition, and since I already had enough arm muscle, I decided to stop the intense training there.”

 

What song would you like to see Yuzuru Hanyu perform?

 

When preparing for the competition, Sorita spent several days compiling lists of about 800 participants from the last two contests, analyzing who played what pieces and what the winners performed, marking down tally marks for roughly 4,000 pieces in total.

 

“If Chopin were alive today, I think he’d be the kind of person who would be hard to become friends with. But if you did get close to him, he would treat you like family or a lover. However, I didn’t have the confidence to get that close, so I had no choice but to approach him gradually. I felt that, at least once in life, truly engaging with a single composer and living a life devoted to performing their works might reveal a whole new realm or world. I think it would be a great valuable learning experience as a musician.”

 

Although piano and figure skating are very different stages, Hanyu and Sorita’s dedication to continually pursuing their craft in their respective worlds draws a meaningful parallel.

 

This season, Yuzuru Hanyu is performing his short program to “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.”

 

“I struggled quite a bit, thinking about what kind of short program would allow me to express myself in a way only Yuzuru Hanyu can. I kept searching for that piece and eventually chose this music," he said. Since the 2019–2020 season, this is his first program set to piano music, and those around him have high expectations.

 

By the way, what kind of music would pianist Kyohei Sorita want to see Hanyu skate to?

 

“Edvard Grieg, for example... Also, French music like Maurice Ravel’s impressionist works might suit him well. However, those pieces may lack a certain climactic moment, so they might be a bit challenging to use in figure skating programs. Personally, I’d also like to see something like Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition,” Sorita said.

 

 

 

In Number issue 1043’s feature “Artists Talk About the Beauty of Yuzuru Hanyu’s Programs Through the Years,” there are interviews with world-renowned ballet dancer Yasuyuki Shuto discussing White Legend and former Takarazuka Revue star turned actress Yuzuru Kurenai sharing her thoughts on Romeo and Juliet. The issue also includes many articles reviewing the journeys of Japanese figure skaters who will soon represent the country at the upcoming Beijing Olympics.