A few times a year, the Portuguese Synagogue transforms into a magical concert hall, illuminated by hundreds of candles and blessed with acoustics that touch you to the core. This autumn, Japanese-Dutch pianist and multimedia artist Tomoko Mukaiyama completes the enchantment.
She will perform the 9 Preludes by Maxim Shalygin, a Ukrainian composer who has lived in the Netherlands since 2010. His music is intimate and contemplative, yet filled with emotional contrasts, introspection, and nostalgia. Shalygin composed these works by candlelight, in silence, to come as close as possible to the essence of sound. “At times the music becomes so still that you begin to hear your own breathing,” he explains.
The Jewish Cultural Quarter is honored to welcome Tomoko Mukaiyama back to the Portuguese Synagogue. She previously performed here in connection with an exhibition at the Jewish Museum devoted to the work of her partner, photographer Philip Mechanicus (1936–2005).
✨ An extraordinary evening of light, stillness, and musical reflection.