Interview: Lisa Oshima, Violinist

Who or what inspired you to take up the violin and pursue a career in music? I started the violin at the age of four by the Suzuki method with my neighbour who was a friend. In my family there was no one musical. I was first inspired  to become a violinist when I went to a concert at the age of five. Or perhaps I was strongly drawn to the beautiful red dress by the soloist…. Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career? My teachers. I met the right teachers at the right time. Kenji Kobayashi, professor at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, always gave me intensive lessons, sometimes nearly 4 hours per lesson. I had to start again with him with scales, many etudes and contemporary music. Dr. Felix Andrievsky, professor at Royal College of Music, taught me the background of the music and how to create my own music. He always believed in and encouraged me; without his great support I couldn’t continue studying and working alone in Europe. Erich Hobarth, concertmaster of Concentus Musicus Wien, passed me Harnoncourt’s baroque style. We often discussed baroque and modern violin playing style and  I tried both of them. What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far? Every concert, every event is always a great challenge for me. However, an orchestral audition was one of the toughest challenges. To get a position in the orchestra was the only way for me to stay in Europe after studying at college. I was eager to get an orchestral job so auditions were extremely stressful. Failure was not tolerated at that time. (via)]]>