HIMARI Presents Debut Album, Recorded Live With The Berliner Philharmoniker
On her 15th birthday, Decca Classics today announces the debut album from violinist Himari, released on 25 September 2026. Her first full-length recording since signing exclusively to the label in 2025, the album centres on Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, recorded live with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sebastian Weigle at the Philharmonie in Berlin during her debut performances with the orchestra in March 2025.
The recording marks Decca Classics' first new recording project with the Berliner Philharmoniker since Sir Georg Solti 30 years ago. It brings together music that has shaped Himari’s musical journey and reflects the repertoire she feels most deeply connected to.
“For my first album, I wanted to choose music I truly love and feel deeply connected to, not just pieces that are famous,” says Himari. “I hope this album reflects both my love for the violin and my curiosity about music and expression.”
The concerto has played an important role throughout Himari’s musical life under the expert and inspirational tutelage of Ida Kavafian at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute. Himari chose the work for a performance with the New Japan Philharmonic in 2023.
At just 13 years old, she made her debut with the orchestra at the Philharmonie in Berlin, the youngest violinist to perform with the orchestra since Sarah Chang in 1994 and Yehudi Menuhin in 1929. That performance, recorded live with conductor Sebastian Weigle, forms the centrepiece of this album.
“That concert remains one of the most memorable moments of my musical life so far,” says Himari. “The energy of a live performance is very special, and I felt incredibly honoured to perform with such an extraordinary orchestra. From the very first rehearsal, I was inspired by the richness of their sound and by how naturally they listened and responded.”
For Himari, the concerto is more than a career milestone: “I feel deeply connected to this concerto,” she says. “As with all the works on this album, it’s music that is often very virtuosic and romantic, but which for me is also very personal and expressive.”
Alongside Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, the album includes his Fantasia on Themes from Gounod’s Faust, one of the great virtuoso works of the violin repertoire. The programme also includes works by Chopin in transcriptions by Jascha Heifetz and Nathan Milstein, alongside Leopold Godowsky’s Alt Wien and Sibelius’s Mazurka from Five Pieces for Violin and Piano.
Himari recorded the recital repertoire with pianist Chelsea Wang. Together, the live concerto recording and the recital performances reflect the range of music she wanted to include on her first album.
“This is what I enjoy,” says Himari. “To explore the finest details of phrasing and sound, while expressing myself freely.”
Dominic Fyfe, A&R Director of Decca Classics, writes: “A debut album is always cause for celebration and none more so than this from Himari. Her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic aged 13 was the kind of historic moment great live recordings are all about: an unrepeatable event captured for posterity. Decca Classics also celebrates its first recording with the Berlin Philharmonic since Sir Georg Solti in 1996, a recording which marked his 50th anniversary as an exclusive artist with the label”.
Himari has already appeared with orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
Before her fourteenth birthday, she had signed with Decca Classics, made her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker and begun recording for the label.
While her international profile continues to grow, Himari has already built a remarkable following in Japan, where her performances have attracted millions of online views and widespread media attention, while a recent NHK documentary charting her musical development introduced her story to a national television audience.
This recording was made possible by the generous support of Mr Kunio Yamada, ROHTO Pharmaceutical Japan.
