One of Japan's most acclaimed international concert stars pauses in Shanghai to recall his days as a young music student in France when he busked for meals by playing the flute in a subway, writes Ma Dan with the Shanghai Daily.

When shigenori Kudo emerges from the wings of the concert hall and takes center stage, the gold and platinum flute in his right hand seems to gleam more brightly than the stage lights.

Dressed in black, Kudo stands at ease and gives a little nod to the pianist before raising the flute to his mouth and blowing the first notes.

It was the opening concert of the First Shanghai International Music Summer Camp at the Shanghai Concert Hall and the 51-year-old Japanese master flautist was making the hall sound like a grand music box.

Kudo had been invited to teach master classes (which end on Friday) and to give a performance with his friend, the well-known Chinese pianist Xu Zhong and cellist Marc Coppey.

The concert was no different from those Kudo has given over the past 30 years. The beautiful melodies that emerge under his dancing fingers and the gentle swaying of his body as he plays have won him the hearts of audiences all over the world.

Kudo didn't show his talent for music until he was in primary school. Before reaching school age, he fancied that he would be a champion skier. At that time, the snow-covered mountains around his Japanese hometown of Sapporo were his favorite playground. Even when only three, he could ski with the older boys and at the age of 11, he was chosen as candidate to learn advanced skiing.

Just when it looked like a career as a professional skier was beckoning, Kudo put his skis away and picked up the flute.

It was the music class he was attending in primary school that changed his life. His teacher used to ask him to give solo performances on the piccolo and Kudo came to discover his talent for playing wind instruments and decided to become a professional musician.

As he grew older, Kudo came to think the piccolo too small to play - it seemed more like a toy than a real instrument. So he started looking for a substitute, one with more or less the same timbre as the piccolo. He tried a few instruments such as the clarinet before picking up a flute. But as soon as he listened to the flute playing, he knew it was the instrument for him.

Graduating from high school in Sapporo, Kudo attended Toho Gakuen College of Music where most of Japan's great musicians have studied. But he wanted more. For Kudo, France was the heartland of classical, especially after his father took him to a flute concert in Sapporo given by the great French flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal.

"Rampal was so great! I admired him very much and it was at that time that I made up my mind to study with him," says Kudo. He never told anyone of his ambition but worked hard alone to achieve it. He managed to get himself to France and finished his musical education at the Paris National Conservatory - studying under Rampal.

"Rampal is the most important person in my life. I admire and respect him," he says. "He taught me a lot and also supported me."

Unlike many other musicians, Kudo isn't one to chase after prizes in international music competitions. After winning the Jean-Pierre Rampal International Competition in Paris (1980), he never again took part in a competition.

"The only thing I want to do is to play the flute, not win prizes," he says with a smile. "Thanks to Rampal, I was invited to perform at some concerts after winning his competition. And in this way, I gradually built up my reputation."

It wasn't always easy. Kudo was once a subway musician, playing the flute with a friend in a Paris subway while studying at the Conservatoire. "We used to be able to make enough money to buy a meal for two," he recalls, laughing. "Not everyone could get that much."

After more than 30 years living in Paris, Kudo has a romantic French outlook as well as a great passion for French music. He jokes that he is now 60-percent French. Kudo says he loves Paris where different cultures mix together and that after living half his life there, he is now "addicted" to the city.

France not only gave Kudo an international stage on which he was able to display his talent but also a wife. She was a 20-year-old flute student when they met and they now have an 18-year-old daughter - but she plays the piano.

Family concerts are often held. The day after his Shanghai performance, Kudo flew to Sapporo for a family reunion and to give a public concert with his daughter.

(Shanghai Daily August 24, 2005)