The Richmond Symphony opens the 2023-24 classical concerts at the Dominion Energy Center the announcement that it’s dynamic conductor, Valentina Peleggi has committed to being artistic director through the 2027-28 season. The debut of a concerto celebrating First Violinist Daisuke Yamamoto’s ten years as concertmaster promises new musical exploration to complement the established greatness of the main event: Mahler’s iconic First Symphony.

It is both an honor and a challenge for Yamamoto, albeit one that he has been preparing for since he started on the instrument as a 4 year old in Marietta, Georgia, starting with a Crackerjack box as his instrument and a ruler for the fingerboard. He heard of the Richmond opening while playing for Miami’s prestigious New World Symphony Orchestra. “I’ve always wanted to be a concert master, to be very involved in the artistic process of making music,” Yamamoto says. “I got my first taste of the role when I was at school at the Cleveland Institute of Music. So I came and auditioned, and, as luck would have it, I won the job.”

That was in 2013. “Time has gone by so fast’” he continues. “When you are busy, on some sort of routine, before you know it a week has passed. I could potentially be here for another, like, 20 years … I bet those years are going to go quickly.”

The superficial role of the concertmaster in performance is an initial acknowledgment followed by signaling the oboe to play a reference A note for the other instruments tuning. As the first-chair violinist, the person often plays the solos within a piece. But the role extends far deeper into the realization of the music.

“Back in the day, before there was a separate job of conductor, [the lead violinist] played and conducted from their seat,” Yamamoto says. “There are still chamber orchestras that play without a conductor. But when the music became more complicated, there was a need for someone dedicated to organizing everything.”

If conductors emerged to supply the overarching vision, the concertmaster evolved to help make artistic intent audible reality. “What that means is that I translate, whether verbally or by example, what the conductor wants. That might take the shape of specifying bow strokes or asking people to play a particular string to articulate a specific tone color. My role is to ensure the strings are unified and cohesive in sound and texture.”

While a classical orchestra contains a wide array of instruments, the strings are both central to its sound and present unique capabilities and challenges. “Because we play with a bow, we can hold a note endlessly,” Yamamoto explains. “The winds and the brass have to take a breath at some point. The same with percussion. They don’t sustain sounds the way strings can. A big part of our role is to bring color and warmth to the tapestry of sound that an orchestra can create. A lot of that comes from more of the lower strings. The first violins and the cellos stereotypically provide their melody moments. The second violins and violas, what we call the ‘inner voices,’ provide different textures through repeated notes or interesting harmonies during long lines. But the basses really ground us all together. “

Beyond the strings, Yamamoto reaches out to the other sections, treating the orchestra as if it was a large chamber ensemble, helping unite a complexity of instrumental voices to achieve the conductor’s artistic intent.

That requires flexibility. “Every conductor is different,” Yamamoto says. “Some conductors are very, very minimal. I have to move a bit more to demonstrate phrasing. But others are very expressive and use very poetic language. This makes my role more technical. I have to be like a chameleon and understand where I can be most useful. My role is not to insert my own ideas, but rather to help the conductor achieve theirs.”

A world premiere violin concerto

If Yamamoto’s artistic leadership is almost entirely outside of public view, his individual virtuosity will be on full display with this weekend’s world premiere of a new violin concerto by Italian composer Andrea Portera.

“Valentina [Peleggi] has known him for quite some time,” Yamamoto says. “He is a very celebrated composer in Europe, who has won many prestigious awards. He had this idea for a piece where the solo violin has these ideas and interacts with different parts of the orchestra, and they blossom from section to section.” Which sounds like an analogy of the role of concertmaster influencing the artistry of others. “The one thing that I asked for was to include some kind of Japanese elements in the piece. The most obvious is a haiku, sung in Japanese, that comes back twice.”

This is Yamamoto’s first time playing a piece written for him that has never been performed anywhere in the world.

“It is an adventure for all of us. No one knows what it’s going to sound like until the first rehearsal. A lot of the pieces we play are shackled by long tradition. This one we can make completely our own. It’s exciting. I have had many opportunities to step out as a soloist. It is always fun to collaborate in that way but there is also a lot of pressure. You are also representing your colleagues and the Symphony. And you want to do that to the highest standard.”

Spotlighting a key, mostly behind the scenes contributor, and programming it with one of the greatest composer’s most popular works, is both high praise for Yamamoto and a very positive reflection on what continues to be an exemplary time for the Symphony. The extension of Peleggi’s involvement is also welcome news. She brings a transformative energy to the concerts. Under her leadership, even the most familiar works glow with new vigor. Golden eras are typically appreciated only in retrospect. But a good case can be made that the Richmond Symphony is in the middle of one now.

As for Yamamoto, Richmond has been welcoming and the future seems secure, but he has other goals as well. “I love playing orchestral music, but there are other things that I would like to do. I think it would be fun to record [an album] of videogame music from my childhood. Some of those melodies are really beautiful. I think it would be fun to put together a recording with violin and piano, or a quartet, or whatever. Finding the right collaborator is the trickiest part. In the classical world, videogame, or even movie soundtracks are not quote-unquote ‘serious music.’”

A world-class violinist looking for collaborators to play videogame music? What could be more RVA than that?

The Richmond Symphony Orchestra plays Mahler’s First Symphony and the world debut of a violin concerto by Andrea Portera, featuring Daisuke Yamamoto, on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 1 at 3 p.m. Tickets are listed online from $35-86.