The assertion that music knows no boundaries, that it unites nations and fosters understanding between people, has become a well-worn cliché. Like a lot of people, experience has also taught me to recognise the kind of profound truths that apply in any given situation. Yoshimi Oshima and I don’t get very far using Japanese or Czech, and communicating in a third language also has its limitations; it’s only through music that we are able to understand one another perfectly.
Even so, some people might anticipate that a Czech organist and Japanese flautist performing European classical music together would come up against certain difficulties. At the very least the potential hurdle presented by two very different cultural backgrounds, which could theoretically involve our differing approach to music as well. Many people believe that, considering his roots, the Central European should in some way have a greater natural affinity towards Bach and his complex polyphony. Yet we should be aware that we have long since ceased living in an environment which promotes our well-being through high-quality music and also through silence. Only very few, wherever they are in the world, including the Old Continent, are fortunate enough not to have been subjected from an early age to what are generally offensive sounds, and that goes for so-called “music” as well. Individual musical talent is determined by our genes, however, borne by our subconscious and, depending on the circumstances, cultivated by consciously sought influences from outside, and also by diligence. In this respect, the starting point is exactly the same in Japan. The musician’s own desire to discover beauty and quality is far more important than the external environment with all its traditions.
Bach’s music is one of the most refined sources of musical fulfilment. It brings satisfaction to humanity both on an intellectual and emotional level. It has order and balance and, at the same time, a rare emotive capacity. There are currently very few flautists around who perform Bach with such enthusiasm and so frequently in concert as Yoshimi Oshima. He has thus been able to develop a special relationship with Bach’s music which respects the world of Baroque polyphony with its vivid and distinct phrasing, and the range of expression and beauty of the modern, contemporary flute sound.
Keyboard instruments are always an important partner for the soloist in Bach pieces. Whether, in our case, this is the harpsichord in Sonata in B minor, or the organ in Sonata in E minor and Suite in C minor, which is an arrangement of a work Bach originally wrote for the lute.