Masaki Hayashi: An Endless Journey of Sound

2020/02/18

One day about 27 years ago in the music room of the Keio Futsubu School, my music teacher, Mr. K, said to me, "Hayashi-kun, play that song you were playing during the break." Blushing, I played the piano and received a round of applause from my friends. This moment was the formative experience that led me, someone who gets more nervous than most, to become a pianist. During my time at Juku High School, I began to aspire to become a jazz pianist, thinking how happy I would be if I could make what I love into my job. Fortunately, I began performing with professionals while still a student in the Faculty of Law, and more than 20 years have already passed since then.

Through live performances, concerts, and recordings with many artists, I have come into contact with a wide variety of musical genres. I have walked this path frantically, wondering what kind of performance would please my fellow performers, how I could play like so-and-so, and what kind of songs would make the audience happy.

In the midst of all this, about 10 years ago, I began to feel that my ears were becoming hypersensitive to loud sounds. While I struggled with this ear abnormality, it became a major turning point that led me to face the timbre of my instrument with delicacy for the first time. I feel that my musicality has gradually taken shape by pursuing the piano tones that I find beautiful and pleasant, or by having the sense that music is created by playing only the minimum necessary sounds out of silence.

When performing with any artist, I have come to ask myself first whether I am satisfied, rather than trying to meet the demands of others. Having passed the age of forty, I may have finally gained the confidence to feel that it is okay not to be the same as others—in fact, it is okay to be different.

Having performed in about 20 countries around the world, I have realized that music sometimes has an amazing power to cross borders with ease. I want to continue to connect with the hearts of many people around the world through music. To do so, I must become a pianist who can put my own convictions into every single note whenever I play the piano. I am still far from a level that I am satisfied with, but I face the piano again today with the joy of being able to immerse myself and compete in this world of music, which I never tire of even after touching it every day for 20 years.