Himari Yoshimura, a 15-year-old Japanese violinist, has released her debut album, showcasing her performance with the Berlin Philharmonic from March 2025, when she was 13 and became the youngest Asian soloist to appear with the orchestra in a subscription concert. The album, on Decca, also includes studio recordings of works by Chopin, Godowsky and Sibelius.
Technical security and lyricism
The recording immediately reveals the technical security of her playing, combined with an easy lyricism across the instrument's full range. The fearsome double stopping in Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No 1 is impressive, with supple dynamic phrasing in the upper register. Occasionally a leap to a high note comes up a hair's breadth short, something absent from the studio recordings, but this is nevertheless a significant performance.
Programme and support
Sebastian Weigle's smooth but staid accompaniments do not entirely help her. The rest of the programme is safe and old-school, including Heifetz and Milstein arrangements of Chopin Nocturnes, a suitably toothsome reading of Godowsky's Alt Wien, and a lithe-limbed account of the Mazurka from Sibelius's Five Pieces for Violin and Piano. The playing exhibits depth and feeling, ably supported by pianist Chelsea Wang.
The finale, Wieniawski's Fantasia on Themes from Gounod's Faust, reveals a keen instinct for musical storytelling amid the fireworks. The album is available on Apple Music and Spotify.
