Honorary Citizen of Shinjuku

Last year, conductor Kenichiro Kobayashi, known as “Kobaken of the Flame,” became an Honorary Citizen of Shinjuku.

To commemorate the occasion, the “Kenichiro Kobayashi Honorary Citizen of Shinjuku Recognition Concert” was held at Shinjuku Bunka Center, and the fifth-generation proprietor went to hear it.

The program featured everyone’s favorites: Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.

The pianist was Miyuji Kaneko, who performs around the world, accompanied by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Shinjuku Bunka Center, brilliantly restored after its renovation, was completely full, without a single empty seat.

At last, the performance began.

The maestro and Miyuji Kaneko strode onto the stage.

The piano resounded through the hushed hall, Kobaken’s baton came down, and the orchestra began to play.

In no time, all three movements had come to an end, and generous applause filled the hall.

Then Kobaken began his delightfully witty talk, which gently relaxed our hearts after we had been utterly captivated by the magnificent performance.

After all, Kobaken is known for his talk.

His exchanges with Miyuji were wonderfully entertaining.

And what always strikes me is Kobaken’s sense of gratitude.

At every concert, he offers words of thanks to the orchestra, the audience, and even the sponsors.

I am sure everyone feels grateful, but what is so wonderful about Kobaken is that he expresses it in words.

After the intermission came the main event: Tchaikovsky’s Fifth.

The fifth-generation proprietor loves this piece so much that he once took trumpet lessons simply because he wanted to play its memorable refrain—though he soon gave up, unable to read music and lacking any real talent for it.

The performance was simply magnificent, racing in one sweep from the passionate first movement to the brilliant finale.

Near the end of the fourth movement, Kobaken seemed hardly to be conducting at all—though perhaps he was—as if he himself were absorbed in listening.

At several Kobaken concerts I had attended before, he would let out a groan as the music reached its climax, or sing along with the melody being played. This time, however, he appeared to be immersed in the music without waving his baton.

That is the artistry of a great conductor.

For the encore, in honor of Hungary, where Kobaken and Miyuji Kaneko first met, they performed Brahms’s Hungarian Dance with wonderfully entertaining shifts in tempo.

Thank you for a truly, truly splendid concert!

Congratulations on becoming an Honorary Citizen of Shinjuku.

I am proud to be a fellow resident of Shinjuku.