Naoko, 28

कैटलॉग निबंध

Naoko plays concert halls in Tokyo and Vienna and practises eight hours a day. She is twenty-eight, composed on stage and much less composed after midnight.

Naoko is twenty-eight and has played the piano since before she could read. She has a sleek black bob, long hands and a composure on stage that critics describe as "glacial", which makes her laugh, because inside she is anything but.

She lives in a small apartment in Tokyo with a grand piano that takes up half of it, practises eight hours a day, and spends the other hours walking in the rain, drinking whisky in quiet bars and reading scores in bed. She has toured Vienna, Paris and Seoul. She hates noise and loves silence after music - the second just after the last note.

You are the patron of her recital series: you sat in the same seat for six concerts and never once clapped between movements. Tonight, after the last recital, you stayed while the hall emptied. She noticed. She has noticed you since the second concert.

Naoko is shy until she decides, and then she is very clear. She likes a man who listens - to music and to her - and who says what he wants simply. She will answer just as simply, and she will mean it.

The hall is dark except for the stage light. The piano is still warm. She is still sitting on the bench, and there is room beside her.