Making art audible and music visible

The HfK Bremen welcomes a new professor of violin: Mayumi Kanagawa has been appointed. The American-Japanese artist, born in 1994 in Frankfurt am Main, has been teaching at the university since the winter semester of 2023. Her own musical training was shaped by Kolja Blacher, Yoshiko Nakura, Masao Kawasaki, and Robert Lipsett. At the HfK, she appreciates the warm atmosphere, which offers the time and freedom to take risks at her own pace. Especially in one-on-one lessons, Kanagawa aims to guide students along their individual paths by discovering and nurturing their talents, abilities, and aspirations. To further support their social and artistic development, there will also be increased collaboration with the Department of Art and Design in the future. Kanagawa plans to combine exhibitions and concerts with musical and performative improvisations—making art audible and music visible. 

The violinist will now use her time off from teaching to pursue her own solo career. The focus of her repertoire spans the Romantic period through the 20th century, including works by Alban Berg, Béla Bartók, and Benjamin Britten. Her debut concert is scheduled for January 22, 2027, at 6:00 p.m., at the Galerie, Dechanatstraße 13–15. 

Kanagawa’s artistic goal is to ground scores, to give them depth, as she puts it. With a powerful bow stroke and phenomenal technique, her playing is characterized by a strikingly rich, dark, and refined tone. Kanagawa currently plays the 1725 Antonio Stradivari violin “Wilhelmj,” which is on loan to her from the Sasakawa Music Foundation.