In Harmony: Cocomi and Niu Niu Celebrate French May With Mesmerising Duet

During the recent French May, Japanese flautist Cocomi and First Initiative Foundation’s Trailblazer and piano prodigy Niu Niu came together for a mesmerising duet.

Since its inception more than 30 years ago, the French May Arts Festival has become a fixture on Hong Kong’s cultural calendar. More than just symbolising the links between France and this city, however, the arts festival – which now extends from April until well into June – has taken on the role of bridge between French and Chinese culture, contributing to a dialogue and exchange that’s flourished in the 60 years since France and China formalised diplomatic relations. To commemorate this six-decade milestone, the Consulate General of France, the Alliance Française and their numerous partners put together one of the most memorable French May line-ups of recent years.

One such partner and sponsor was the First Initiative Foundation (FIF) charity, whose Trailblazer and piano virtuoso extraordinaire Niu Niu returned to the festival for the third time. Said the pianist of the charity, with which he’s collaborated since he was young, “I believe strongly in music Education and in music as an important aspect of life, so I’m happy to join with FIF in that mission. I always look forward to doing projects with the foundation.” 

On this occasion he teamed up with beloved Japanese flautist Cocomi Kimura for Beautiful Harmony, a joint performance in the Hong Kong Jockey Club Amphitheatre at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. It turned out the two had been acquainted for a while and, much like Hong Kong’s relationship with France, it hadn’t taken long for theirs to blossom.

“He played on two pieces – ‘Vocalise’ and ‘Ave Maria’ – for my debut album de l’amour,” Cocomi said. “At that time, due to the pandemic, it wasn’t possible to play together in person, so I watched him play and record via Zoom.”

“After that,” Niu Niu added, “we developed a strong musical relationship and collaboration. I featured her on one of my own albums, and we collaborated for all the tracks in her second album.”

That album, Mélancolie, formed the basis of their concerts held over two nights at the end of May, which brought Cocomi to Hong Kong for the first time. From pieces such as Claude Debussy’s “Beau soir” and Francis Poulenc’s “Mélancolie” to Gabriel Fauré’s “Berceuse” and “Fantaisie,” numerous captivating flute and piano arrangements from the album were brought to life on stage. “Mélancolie includes all the most beautiful French repertoires, which is perfect for the theme of French May,” Niu Niu explained, while Cocomi added that they also played some of pieces suggested him, including his own composition “L’Eau”.

The concert marked Niu Niu’s third appearance in the French May festival, and though it was Cocomi’s Hong Kong debut, she’s no stranger to the stage either. The daughter of singer/actors Takuya Kimura and Shizuka Kudo, she grew up in the spotlight and at the age of 23 already had two decades of musical experience behind her. She began playing the violin when she was just three. “Then I played the piano and cello,” she explained, “and, though it’s not an instrument, I took singing as my school minor. But the beautiful sound of the flute captivated me the most.”

By the time she turned 11 it had become her instrument of choice, and she developed exceptional skills while studying in the department of music at Toho Girls’ High School, where she placed first in the Wind Instrument High School Division of the second Japan Music ComPetition in Tokyo. After that triumph, she attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music under professor Kanda Hiroaki, who’s also the NHK Symphony Orchestra’s principal flautist. She also completed a masterclass with Vladmir Ashkenazy and EMMAnuel Pahud; the latter, she said, is “someone I’ve admired since I started playing the flute.”

Given her achievements and talent, and their shared passion, it’s hardly surprising that Niu Niu was so keen to collaborate again with Cocomi after they performed last year at Tokyo’s Kioi Hall.

“This is my third participation in French May,” the pianist said. “The first was with French cellist Laurent Perrin, and the second was with the pianist Théo Fouchenneret. But this time, I’m especially excited to be collaborating with Cocomi. When I play solo, I can be free to perform with my own personality, but when I play a duet or perform with an orchestra, aside from playing my own part well I must also communicate with my musical partners, and it involves a lot more conversations through music. This joint effort is exhilarating for me and makes our collaborations even more memorable.”

Towards the end of the concert, a group of French International School students joined Niu Niu and Cocomi on stage to perform music and poetry in an impressive and inspirational display of skill and precision. This nurturing of young musicians and artists is something the pianist, an FIF Trailblazer, values greatly.

“During my tours in Hong Kong and mainland China, I always incorporate masterclasses and sharing events with the next generation of talents and students, and try to pass on my experiences from the past two decades of learning and performing on stage with them,” he said. “Sometimes I also perform with them.

“During this concert for French May, I arranged for eight students from FIS to play with me and Cocomi for a specially arranged excerpt of “Butterfly Lovers Concerto”. We had such a fun time during rehearsals and the concert, and I think this is the essence of how music – and the love for it – gets passed on.”

Although the two Beautiful Harmony concerts lasted a combined six hours, their importance is longer lasting. Integral to every note they played was a sense of admiration, understanding and respect for France and its culture, as well as its shared values with Hong Kong. “I’d be delighted if the audience could feel the kind of France and the story that Niu Niu and I envision,” said Cocomi.

“And I hope they’ll feel a beautiful harmony from our concert,” the pianist added. “As I believe harmony is what we all need these days.”