Ten years ago, promising 16-year-old classical violinist Akiko Yamada, educated in France at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, was collecting trophies at international competitions for her talent. But then, following a series of severe health issues that began with a trapped nerve in her arm, she disappeared from public view. For a long time, it seemed to both her and her fans that Yamada’s fledgling career was already over. Ten years later though, the youngest ever winner of the first Grand Prix at the Concours International Long-Thibaud (2002) returned after what she calls “a long pause of reflection.”