— What do you consider important when designing a Clavinova?

In the design of any musical instrument, observation of human behavior, ergonomics and sound quality are very important. Clavinova are basically instruments used in peoples' homes, so they should have a simple, natural, elegant design suitable for daily life. Yamaha applies quality regulations governing the positional relationships between the keyboard, pedals, music rest, and so on, to ensure good ergonomics and playability which are important to observe. In addition, to ensure that it can produce beautiful sound, we have to give consideration to ensuring sufficient space for the speaker box capacity and other parts of the acoustic system. This and close attention to detail are the fundamental elements in the design of a Clavinova.

— What were the concept and other points you were particularly committed to concerning the design of the CLP-300 Series?

The design concept of the new CLP-300 Series is "modern classic." "Modern" means it is a design suited to today's lifestyles. For people who live in apartment buildings, for instance, finding space for a piano is difficult, so we are determined to make our pianos easy for people to play, including ease of assembly and a beautiful appearance once assembled. The word "classic" on the other hand, incorporates an image of a strong design that is simple and immune to the effects of fads. We wanted to provide them with a strong, elegant, timeless presence. Combining two key words in this way resulted in the CLP-300 Series, which has the beauty of an upright piano.

— Which aspects of the former CLP-200 Series did you change to createthe CLP-300 Series?

First, we wanted to create a design that is as pure as possible. What I mean by pure is unshakeable strength achieved by thoroughly eliminating everything superfluous and just leaving the simple, distilled, elegant essence of a piano. An analogy would be distilling wine to increase its purity and maturing it so it becomes brandy, which has a rich, mellow fragrance and flavor and a deep color. By designing Clavinovas with "distillation" in mind, we have created a powerful design that will over time retain its value and relevance to modern living. We want Yamaha products to have high quality and to be enjoyed and played for many years. Second, in all my designs I consider the modernist architect Mies Van Der Rohe's famous words, "God is in the details." I take this to mean that the power of the "whole" is the sum of the quality, beauty and exquisiteness of the "small parts" — the details. The front legs of the CLP-200 Series and many other electronic pianos are on the inside of the keyboard. On the CLP-300 Series, the front legs are installed so that their surfaces are aligned with the front surface of the keyboard, to create a continuous, flowing silhouette. This structure and other carefully considered junctions are technically more difficult to manufacture, and demonstrate Yamaha's woodworking quality and skill.

— Is there anything else you would like to add?

The design of musical instruments is different from that of most other products. Few products can be used as long as a piano, so they often feature a design that is in vogue when they are developed. As a result, the value of the design can often decrease over time. As a player spends time with their piano for many, many years, numerous memories of the joy experienced when playing new compositions or happy times shared with family or friends are engraved in the piano. As this happens, the piano steadily becomes more and more valuable over time. In order for the Clavinova to fulfill this role from a design point of view, I try to understand the pure, simple long-lasting essence of an object.

[ Interview took place in December 2008. ]