Today’s playlist is about catching up with a young violinist who is likely to win recognition as the virtuoso of her generation in the near future. Warning: I’m also going to go on a rant about major label shenanigans!
Japanese violinist Himari (full name Yoshimura Himari) was just 13 years old when she made her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in March 2025, broadcast live and now archived on the BPO’s Digital Concert Hall streaming service. I was watching with the same amazement and delight as the orchestra’s string players evidently were that night.
That’s a taste of Himari’s Wieniawski Concerto No. 1 with the Berlin Philharmonic, in March 2025. The excerpt hardly does justice to the jaw-dropping performance, for that you need a Digital Concert Hall subscription (free 7-day trial on offer), and watch the first movement. This performance is also on the Himari Debut album due in September, and the pre-release track on Apple Music is the 3rd movement (complete).
Fun fact: the conductor for the occasion above was Sebastian Weigle, who stepped in at short notice for an indisposed Zubin Mehta, and the orchestra plays for Himari like she’s a returning laureate. The full concerto, plus a Corigliano encore and a charming interview, lives on the Digital Concert Hall.
Just two days before that performance, Decca Classics and Universal Music announced they had signed Himari to an exclusive contract, with great fanfare, and simultaneously released a digital streaming “single” (actually two tracks) of the Carmen Fantasy by Franz Waxman.
“Hat’s off, gentlemen” and all that! I was primed for great things to come, back then. But my enthusiasm was mostly sparked by the Berlin Philharmonic debut. Listening to the Carmen Fantasy single, you will quickly notice that it’s a trivial encore piece. The violin pyrotechnics are impressive, but it’s not a proving ground for a violinist of substance. [more like Hollywood fluff: Waxman composed it for the 1946 Joan Crawford melodrama Humoresque, with Isaac Stern playing on the soundtrack]
So I have waited for something more. And it seems Decca wanted everyone to wait. To be blunt, they have orchestrated a roll-out of Himari’s work that is straight out of their cynical playbook for foisting minimal-talent “content-maker” artists upon us as chill-listening slop: a noodling piano single here, a reverb-drenched EP there. Needless to say, this is not a proper release strategy for a phenomenal talent of Himari’s stature… which is obvious in spite of the limited evidence.
Before I continue my rant, here is a taste of another of Himari’s “singles”:
The violin has always minted prodigies. Mozart was hauled around Europe at seven; Yehudi Menuhin made his Berlin Philharmonic debut in 1929 at 13. And since then, no younger violinist had stood in front of that orchestra again until Himari did in March 2025. Anne-Sophie Mutter was 14 when Karajan put her on record with the BPO. Midori and Sarah Chang followed their own versions of this well-worn path, with mixed results. Himari – born in Japan in 2011, a Curtis student of Ida Kavafian since 2022 – looks to be aligning with the Mutter trajectory.
If only Decca would lend a hand! The label signed her in March 2025 as the youngest female artist in its history. Two singles, then a 4-track, 20-minute EP titled simply HIMARI, then two more singles this spring (Corigliano, Takemitsu)… all following the pop playbook of drip-fed “content.” It’s a condescending way to present a serious artist. The right way is Karajan’s way: he handed the teenaged Mutter two complete Mozart concertos with him conducting for her debut album.
Now that I’ve got that off my chest, let me get back on track! My real purpose today is to bring Himari to your attention, and pique your interest. Because she is about to take off like a rocket, and you will want to be along for the ride.
As I write this, she has just begun a flurry of concerts for July: the U.S.A leg, performing with her regular recital partner Chelsea Wang (a fellow Curtis graduate) at the Colorado Music Festival, then Vail (July 15) and Tanglewood (July 26); followed by appearances in Japan to end the month.
And then comes the main event: the release of the genuine debut album – title “Debut“ – on September 25, followed by international touring dates with orchestra in October and November (LSO and Antonio Pappano on tour in Japan, then Minnesota and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras); and another recital tour with 7 stops in Japan and Taiwan throughout December.
Debut features the live Wieniawski with the Berlin Philharmonic, plus the same composer’s Faust Fantasy and a set of miniatures that includes two Chopin nocturnes in Heifetz and Milstein arrangements. The pre-release track is streaming now on Apple Music Classical (or the Apple Music player over on the right): it’s the Rondo finale, and yes, it is the same performance you can watch on the Digital Concert Hall, although the audio quality (already excellent) has been improved, bringing a little more focus to the soloist. The pre-release dropped on Himari’s 15th birthday last month – some credit to Decca, that’s a nice touch!
As a final entry for the playlist, let’s wind it back to March 2023: Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Japan). Himari was just 11, and her calm brilliance is already unnerving. This is the full concerto performance.
