World-famous maestro Marin Alsop and sensational pianist Hayato Sumino during intense rehearsals with the Polish NOSPR Orchestra ahead of their epic tour of Japan. — © Radoslav Kazmierczak / NOSPR
From time to time, a star flashes in the world of music, and on rare occasions a star shines brightly, dwarfing all contemporaries. In this case with Hayato Suminopianist from Tokyo.
The Japanese pianist and composer, born in 1995, began learning to play his instrument at the age of three. During his time at university, Sumino’s musical performances, especially to the music of Frédéric Chopin, began to attract large international audiences and win national and multinational prizes.
His performances of Chopin are an emotional roller coaster of musical joy, especially his version of the Nocturne in C minor op. 48 no. 1, which shows breathtaking clarity of sound, the piano keys combine scientific precision and artistic flair.
As well as mastering Chopin and releasing two albums (Passion as well as HAYATOSM), Sumino wrote numerous works of his own, including Big Cat Waltz as well as Tinkerland. Like Chopin and his own work, Sumino excels at handling Franz Liszt’s complexity.
STEM meets art
During his studies at Sumino University, he studied natural sciences and engineering, which led to a master’s degree and a presidential award. His postgraduate studies included the study of music information processing technologies and artificial intelligence at the French Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics and Music.
Broad appeal
Getting to the bottom of Sumino’s appeal is easy: he is young, handsome, stylish, and very talented. He has also made full use of social media to promote his work and classical music in general.
Such is the attraction of the young pianist that in 2021 Sumino participated at the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. When he reached the semi-finals), his virtuoso live performance attracted 45,000 online viewers, which in turn set a digital audience record for the contest.
influencer
Apart from being a renowned pianist, Sumino is also a YouTuber, codenamed “Katin”. The channel boasts over 1 million subscribers and one video – “7 Levels of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” – got over 8 million views. Seven variations – a tribute to W. A. Mozart.
The seven variations are adorable: Sumino shows off her dazzling finger and wrist technique, with each of the seven levels building on the previous level:
- Level 0 – sleepy children.
- Level 1 – Wake Up Early
- Level 2 – piano
- Level 3 – Doodle Doodle Dance
- Level 4 – horror intro
- Level 5 – Arkestra
- Level 6 – early sun
- Level 7 – Peak Enthusiasm
Several other videos showcase Sumino’s breathtaking improv skills, especially those in which he performs in front of a large enthusiastic audience. Some of the performances turn into jazz, showing that his talents go beyond the classics.
Like Caitin he also has 148,000 followers on instagram; 121,000 subscribers on twitter; as well as 18,000 Facebook fans. These are levels of social media that rarely happen to a classical musician.
Sumino also previously featured on the pages Digital magazine.
world tour
Sumino at present on an international tourspeaking to packed houses. In September, the sensational pianist will tour Japan with the Polish NOSPR Symphony Orchestra, one of the best orchestras in Europe. These recitals will be conducted by world-renowned maestro Marin Alsop, Laureate Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The concerts include symphonic classics (Brahms), representatives of Slavic cultures (Dvorak), and, of course, a lot of Chopin.
Catch a show if you can.
