46 and 23 years ago

There have been a couple of old cassette tapes in a corner of the book shelf. While getting things arranged there, I have found them. Memorable ones for me.

One, shown above a tape in my med school days. I have written about it before elsewhere in this blog. When we have finished the concert of Beethoven 7th, a violinist, a first year student of the women's college our university held the orchestra as an intercooligiate activity, has taken her friend pianist to see me at a wing of the stage. Both of them were majoring in music education and both very proficient at their instruments. Yes, I know I have boasted about it before. They have asked me to play piano trio. As a chamber music lover, it was a really pleasant proposal. 

We have practised the famous piano trio, Archduke, by Beethoven. Repeated rehearsals for several times, we have played the 1st movement at the college's festival in fall. Later, we played all of the movements. Not a very difficult piece but a great sense of achievement when we completed all the movements. We decided to record it at the hall of the college. It is a very old hall made of wood and brought a great accoustic sound with proper amount of reverberation. What a fun to play it with them at such a hall! I have listened to it for a few times. But never recently. One reason was that I have lost any cassette tape player. The other, more plausible, was that I was not very happy at own performance. Maybe, I won't dare to listen to it again any longer. It is still a treasure for me. It is dated in Oct. 1977. Forty six years ago.

The 2nd one shown below is a recording of a concert of the high school orchestra which the pianist friend used to join. I was invited to a memorial concert by the alumni of the orchestra. I also have mentioned about it before. Before this concert, after a long interval, I have asked her to play chamber music together. She kindly came to Tokyo at certain interval for practice. Together with different violinists, we have enjoyed various pieces of chamber music. Mendelssohn, Brahms or Faure etc. I came down to Tokyo for the practice once a month or so. Most pleasant days. Oh, this is what I have posted here in the past. This was dated in 2000. Twenty three years ago.   

These cassette tapes testify those happy times in my life. I may keep them and ask family to dispose them when I pass away. They are meaningless to the other people but a treasure for me. The 1st was made 46 years ago and the 2nd 23 years ago. 

I have posted this photo in the past. With the company of piano trio.