It’s not often you see a former child prodigy performing Vocaloid songs on a violin.
In order to promote the release of her upcoming September 13 best-of album Genre-less THE BEST, the world famous Japanese violinist Ayako Ishikawa has released an impressive video in which she performs what can best be described as an intense rendition of classical music composer Antonio Vivaldi’s “Summer” but with a slight heavy metal twist.
Check it out below.
About Ayako Ishikawa
So who is Ayako Ishikawa? She is a Japanese violin prodigy who began playing at the age of four in while still living in Tokyo. At the age of five she left to London, where she became the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Purcell School, a prestigious music school under the patronage of the Prince of Wales. Then, at the age of fifteen she headed to Sydney, Australia, where she was awarded a scholarship to attend the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at the University of Sydney and completed the Bachelor of Music degree with First Class Honors.
Ishikawa has won countless scholarships and awards and her amazing violin skills have taken her around the world. Aside from all that though, she also managed to become somewhat of an internet celebrity thanks in large part to her impressive covers of Vocaloid songs and anime themes. In 2015 Ishikawa made her major label album debut with the release of an all anime theme cover album called, Anima Classic. And since then she has continued to use her jaw-dropping skills to wow people around the world both in-person and through her popular YouTube channel.
So, now that you have a general idea of who Ishikawa is, why don’t we take a listen to some of her previous work?
First up we have a great take on one of the most popular anime themes to come out of the 1990s, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” fron Neon Genesis Evangelion.
And here’s a cover of the Detective Conan theme, which she just released last month.
For the fans of the older anime themes, here’s a great rendition of the Space Battleship Yamato song.
As for the Vocaloid stuff, here’s her rendition of what is perhaps one of the most popular Vocaloid songs ever, “Senbon Zakura.”
Here’s here cover of the popular Hatsune Miku song “The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku”
And then there’s the pop songs. For example, she recently did a fantastic cover of “Knock Knock” by the Korean pop group TWICE.
Here’s her take on the Babymetal song “Megitsune.”
And finally, for all you Disney fans, here’s a cover of the theme from Beauty and the Beast.
Ishikawa has a whole lot more covers on her YouTube channel, so even if you can’t navigate your way through the Japanese itunes or Amazon pages to get her stuff, you can still enjoy much of her work by checking out her channel. Also, she seems to upload videos fairly regularly so you may want to consider subscribing.
Source: Ayako Ishikawa Official Website, Tower Records
Image: Antonio Vivaldi – “Summer” from Four Seasons／AYAKO ISHIKAWA 石川綾子／四季より (ayakoishikawatv)
