The annual "Kayabuki Concert" will be held at Kayabuki Music Hall in Hiyoshicho, Nantan City, Kyoto Prefecture, on October 26, 2025. Pianist Kazuko Sailer (73), who has performed at the concert since its inception, and Austrian violinist Julian Walder (25), with whom she first formed a duo in June of this year, will also appear at the autumn performance. The two, who hit it off so well, reunited at a salon performance in Vienna, Austria on August 30. They have prepared a new program for the "Kayabuki Concert," focusing on Romantic works, and are looking forward to their third collaboration.
The concert hall was first opened in 1989 by piano duo husband and wife Sailer, who relocated the former main hall from a Zen temple in Fukui Prefecture. Even after her husband Ernst Sailer's death in 2017, Kazuko Sailer continued her legacy, inviting musicians from overseas and hosting over 400 duo concerts.
"I've performed with many people, but my chemistry with Julian Walder is on a par with my husband. We have a conversation through music, and it's as if we're breathing together. I immediately asked him to perform again," says Kazuko Sailer, expressing her joy at meeting her partner, a member of her grandchild's generation.
Julian Walder began playing the violin at the age of five and has won top prizes in numerous international competitions. Through a mutual acquaintance in Austria, he was booked to perform at the Thatched Roof Concert for the first time. On September 5th, he will release a new album featuring works by Bach and other composers on an international label. After seeing the film "The Last Samurai," the Japanophile was moved by the Japanese people's ability to communicate even when they speak a limited number of words, and this summer she studied abroad in Kyoto to learn Japanese. Looking ahead to her second Thatched Roof Concert, she says, "I'm truly happy to be able to perform with Kazuko in a traditional Japanese wooden building, where time seems to flow so leisurely."
The Autumn Kayabuki Concert will be held on October 26th at 11am and 3pm. Pieces include Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 5 "Spring" and Wagner's "Romance". Admission is 5,000 yen (payment required in advance). Guests will be treated to rice balls made with local rice and a special cake made by Kazuko. To make an appointment, email Kayabuki Music Hall at pianoduo@kayabuki.com or call and fax 075 (781) 9003.
