[On Stage] Piano-Savvy Engineering Oppa... 'Manjjitnam' Pianist Sumino Hayato

Tokyo University Engineering Graduate Advances to 3rd Round Finals of Chopin Competition
2018 Winner of Major Japanese Competition Commits to Life as Musician
Second Korea Recital on 24th at Lotte Concert Hall

Japanese pianist Sumino Hayato is like a character from a manga.

He is a prodigy who graduated from the Tokyo University of Science and Technology, Japan's top engineering school. On the other hand, influenced by his mother, who was a piano instructor, he started learning piano at the age of three and reached the third final round of the 2021 Chopin International Piano Competition at the age of 26. The Chopin Competition is the most prestigious piano competition in the world that all pianists aspire to. Hayato was the first non-music major to reach the third final round, which narrows down to 20 contestants. He instantly became a globally recognized pianist.

A happy man with a bright future ahead, whether as a pianist or an engineer. We asked Hayato, who is scheduled to hold a solo concert in Korea at Lotte Concert Hall on the 24th, in writing about which path he wants to choose in the future.

Hayato answered that he chose the path of music in 2018. That year, Hayato won the All Japan Piano Teachers Association (PTNA) Competition, a major music competition in Japan. "When I won the PTNA, a big music competition in Japan, I decided to pursue a career in music. My career as a musician officially began in 2018." He said that before 2018, playing the piano was just a hobby. However, he quietly nurtured his dream of becoming a pianist. "Until 2018, I played piano as a hobby, but I secretly worked hard to gain more performance experience."

Sumino Hayato [Photo provided by Mast Media, ?Ryuya Amao]

Hayato said that currently, his skills as a musician are far superior to those as an engineer. "Although I studied for a long time to obtain an (engineering) degree, I don't think I possess any special skills to become a professional programmer or researcher. I am at the same level as any other student attending Tokyo University of Science and Technology, so it is hard to compare that with the skills I have as a musician."

The 2021 Chopin Competition was also a decisive moment that completely changed Hayato's life. He described it as the moment he was reborn. Right after the Chopin Competition, he composed a piece called "New Birth," which captures his emotions at the time. He plans to perform it at this concert. "I composed it right after the 2021 Chopin Competition, and it reflects the reborn me after the competition."

Hayato plans to perform four of his original compositions, including "New Birth," at this concert.

Music critic Heo Myung-hyun praised Hayato not only for his outstanding performance skills but also for his attractive composition techniques. Critic Heo especially commented on Hayato's composition "Big Cat Waltz," saying, "You can see very attractive compositional techniques. It has a somewhat 19th-century sensibility, a classical feeling."

"Big Cat Waltz" is a piece Hayato composed for his pet cats. He explained, "The cats are big and chubby, but when you see them jump and play, you can see their quickness, not clumsiness. This contrasting image is expressed musically in the piece."

Besides his original compositions, he will perform pieces by Baroque composers Bach (1685?1750) and Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683?1764), as well as works by modern composers Friedrich Gulda (1930?2000) and Nikolai Kapustin (1937?2020).

Sumino Hayato [Photo provided by Mast Media, ?Ryuya Amao]

This will be Hayato's second concert tour in Korea. He first visited Korea last year and performed three times in Seoul, Busan, and Incheon. All shows were sold out.

As his position as a pianist, which he had quietly nurtured in his heart, gradually solidified, he seems to have gained some peace of mind. He said, "When I started to become known in Japan, the media described me as 'a pianist who graduated from Tokyo University,' which I did not like. I found it hard to understand the correlation between playing the piano and my academic background." However, now he says, "The engineering experience I gained at the university plays a big role in my musical background. I use engineering knowledge a lot when I perform."

Hayato expressed his ambition, saying, "I want to continue playing the piano and studying composition and arrangement, and eventually become an artist who can compose film music and works for piano and orchestra."