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Concertmistress of the Kansas City Symphony Kanako Ito is one of those hometown girls who didn't originally come from here.  She is a native of Japan, but she chose Kansas City. And now this is home.     

Her resume is filled with all sorts of impressive credentials.  She has participated in violin competitions the world over and won a lot of them.  But for those of us who attend Kansas City Symphony concerts, we don't have to be told about her prizes.  We have our own ears.

What's more interesting to learn is that Kanako is married to Martin Storey, who is on the faculty of Park University as professor of cello.  And both perform with the Quartet Accorda there.

As concertmistress, she is the person who comes on stage just before the conductor.  She gives that last signal before the concert begins for the orchestra to get instruments in tune.  The concertmistress is the first representative of the orchestra.  When a soloist acknowledges the orchestra at the end of a performance, the soloist shakes hands with the concertmistress.

On October 23 - 25, Kanako Ito won't be the KC Symphony's representative to shake hands with the soloist, she will be that soloist for the Mendelsohn Violin Concerto. With that in mind, I asked her about what it's like to swap roles.

 
David P.: You're in your home town with your own orchestra and your audience is filled with people who love you. What do you want to deliver to the Kansas City Symphony audience in your performance?

Kanako Ito:  Although of course I don't know all of our audience individually, I know they have been watching me for a long time on many different occasions. They know me with short hair, long hair, being pregnant, playing different solos and tuning the orchestra every concert. I feel very close to our audience and it is always a great feeling to play a solo for them. I hope they will hear the incredible energy, passion and beauty which I think there is in the Mendelssohn concerto.

David P:   You've performed as a soloist with the Kansas City Symphony previously. How is it different being "one of the guys" in the orchestra, and being the soloist -- the one person who stands directly in front of the audience?

Kanako Ito:  Being a soloist is a completely different role. Most concerto solo parts are technically and musically much more demanding than orchestral parts, as they are written to show off the capabilities of the instrument and the soloist. When playing a concerto you have to play everything in a bigger scale to project against the orchestra, and show the strength of your personality and of your interpretation. Being part of an orchestra you have to communicate, negotiate and blend with everyone, and follow the conductors baton.

David P:  Mendelssohn is known for compositions of great technical genius but also works which delight the ear of listeners. What draws you to this piece? The challenge of performing it or the beauty of the music or both?

Kanako Ito:  I learned this concerto when I was 12 or 13 because it was a set piece for a national competition in Japan. Because of the memory of practicing so hard for that competition I could not enjoy this concerto for a long time. Now many years have passed and I have performed it many times and so now I see this piece (finally!) with a very different view - I love every note of it!

David P: Okay, we have to ask this one: what pieces did you consider performing but lost out to the Mendelssohn piece? What tipped the balance towards the Mendelssohn?

Kanako Ito:  There are still a lot of concertos I have not yet performed with this orchestra, and some concertos which I did not yet have a chance to learn. The choice of piece had to be balanced out with the rest of the tonight's program and the other programs during the season. Mr. Stern and I exchanged some ideas and in the end he made the final decision - which is good because I am sometimes really bad at deciding! But one day I would also like to perform Beethoven, Korngold, Glaznov and any of the Mozart concertos.

David P: When you go home at night and put a CD in the player to relax, what do you listen to?

Kanako Ito:  I love Ennio Morricone's music right now and I have been listening to his music like 'Deborah's theme' from "Once Upon a Time in America."

David P:  What question should I have asked but didn't?

Kanako Ito:  My age!

Kansas City Symphony
Bach, Haydn and Mendelssohn
With Kanako Ito, violin
Friday, October 23 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, October 24 at 8 p.m.
Lyric Theatre for October 23 and 24
11^th and Central Streets, Kansas City, MO
Sunday, October 25 at 2 p.m.
12345 College Boulevard, Overland Park, KS
For tickets call 816-471-0400 or online at www.kcsymphony.org.

By David Peironnet

Special to KCM

David Peironnet has been a concert-goer for more years than he would care to admit, and can clearly recall hearing the Kansas City Philharmonic under the baton of Hans Schweiger. This comes from someone who admits to be only 24 years old though acknowleges that his undergraduate degree was not in math but rather political science -- a group of people who are notoriously able to see only those facts they want to see in statistical data.

David has churned out the newsletter for the Friends of the Symphony - Kansas City for six or seven years. He doesn't recall and really doesn't care how many years it has been because the only thing that's important is the next deadline -- and the one after that.

This is one of a series of interviews he runs periodically usually consisting of five open-ended questions which reveal answers which can give information to the person walking into a concert hall for the first time, or like himself have been enjoying concerts for many years.

David and Kathy Peironnet frequently work at the Friends of the Symphony gift shop which is located in the lobby of the Lyric Theatre. The next time you come to a concert, stop by and say, "hello." Ask for a copy of the current FoS newsletter. If a copy isn't available, just ask and one will be mailed to you.

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