Mozart and Hanshin

Moon beside Tokyo Tower near the Tokyo Masonic Center

On January 27, 2010, I was invited to the Tokyo Masonic Center for a "Mozart Birthday Serenade" charity concert featuring our own Sara B., world famous pianist and Hanshin fan. It was a beautiful evening, with the moon shining over Tokyo Tower, next to which the Tokyo Masonic Center is located, where the concert was to be held. The scene set the mood for a night of music.

I met Sara in the lobby as she was returning from a pre-concert dinner. She was eager to quiz me on the coming season and invited me up to the office she was using as a dressing room. I'm afraid that I didn't have a baseball cap to present the star as Miyazaki-owner did when he gave Sara a tour of Koshien, but that didn't seem to bother her.

Sara Davis Buechner and I

(She was kind enough to crouch down a bit for the photo so as not to tower above me like Tokyo Tower over the nearby buildings outside.) Despite it being 30 minutes before she goes on to perform, she wanted to speak nothing of music, but only about baseball. "What do you think of Johjima? What happened to Kei Igawa? ..." We really only had a short time before she had to get ready, and as is always the case while talking baseball, that time flew by in a flash. So I went downstairs to find a seat while Sara reluctantly turned her mind from baseball to music.

The concert consisted of three concertos for piano and orchestra (Mozart's #25, 26, and 27). I've been to a number of concerts, big and small, but I'm by no means knowledgeable about music. (My daughter is the one with musical talent - piano, clarinet, bamboo flute, and instantly any other instrument she sets her hands on - I can't carry a note.)

Sara at the piano and the Tokyo Sinfonia let by Robert Ryker

The second movement of the second concerto (Number 26) was the most familiar to me, but all of the music was wonderful.

It was really interesting watching Sara work her way into each piece. The symphony (violins) would start up first, and Sara would close her eyes with her arms beside her. The horns would come in and Sara would be lipping, "bom bom bom" with the deep sound they made. Finally she would move in, lift her arms, and the piano would explode with music! Hitting the keyboard hard with the left hand, having the hand come up to eye level, the right hand continues on as though typing 60 words per minute (notes per minute?). It's as impressive to watch as it is to listen to.

After the concert, there was a reception where all the musicians and audience members mingled with wine and hors d'oeuvres. For some reason, Sara kept introducing me as having the most important site on the Internet. I protested, as I've had hardly enough time to maintain this site lately, but accepted that it was pivotal in keeping her up to date in Japanese baseball until all the other English language news services and blogs started popping up recently.

After the reception, some of Sara's most devoted former proteges joined her for dinner, and wanting to talk more baseball, I was also invited along as well. We found a family restaurant and continued to talk about the coming season and seasons past. I also got to learn a bit about the life of a pianist and a composer (sitting on either side of me) to make the evening complete.

Finally, for Sara, I came across this Bleacher Report article that mentions your favorite former Tiger, Kei Igawa. I'm afraid it's not too flattering, but it looks like Igawa will be given another chance to prove himself. You know my opinion on him, but I'll be rooting for him for you. Thank you for the great concert.