森田昭夫著：メイド・イン・ジャパン [PH]
1990年の来日コンサートは、前年、ワシントンでのドイツ連邦共和国四十周年記念コンサートにベルリン・ドイツ・オペラと共に出演したのに引き続いて行われたものですが、ずいぶん前から計画されていました。東京の主催者によるその詳細かつ綿密な計画に、ホフマンは驚いています。1年前には、いろいろと細かい問い合わせがあり、迎えの車の色、ホテルの部屋に置くグランドピアノの種類、コンサートの合間の自由行動計画等々が公式に決定されました。ホフマンにとって一番の驚きは、彼が「確実にひとりになれる時間をほしがっている」などとは、日本の主催者は夢にも思っていないらしいことでした。
ホフマンが個人的に知り合った最初の日本人は、ソニーの創業者、盛田昭夫氏でした。彼の著書『メイド・イン・ジャパン』にもありますが、盛田氏は、1983年のバイロイト音楽祭の時、ホフマンに招待され、その自宅を訪問したのです。ホフマンのホームページ(2009年7月消滅）にも、その時の写真と説明があります。ザルツブルク音楽祭からバイロイト音楽祭の音楽の話題、オーディオ機器からホンダのオートバイのテクノロジーの話題など、とても気が合ったということです。盛田氏は、ホフマンの運転するオートバイ（ホンダ1200cc）に同乗して、最高瞬間時速220キロを楽しみます。そして、ホフマンの飛行機操縦の先生、アクロバット飛行の世界選手権保持者マンフレート・シュテッセンロイターの飛行機に同乗、宙返り飛行を体験しますが、飛行機操縦免許を持っている盛田氏もさすがに膝ががくがく、胃の具合がおかしくなったそうです。この先生はその後、飛行中の事故で亡くなり、そのショックもあって、ホフマンは飛行機操縦免許を取らないまま、やめてしまったということです。
メイド・イン・ジャパン：
"Made in Japan" ソニー創業者 盛田昭夫(1921~1999)の著書
p134
I like to travel fast, although I don't consider myself a speed demon. One time when Yoshiko and I were in Bayreuth for the Wagner festival, the opera singer Peter Hoffman showed me his pride and joy, a twelvehandred-cc Honda motorcycle. This huge and powerful machine is not available in Japan, but is much in demand in Germany where they have no speed limits on the autobahn. He invited me to drive it, but I declined, saying I would prefer to ride with him, and off we went for a spin. At one hundred and forty miles an hour I could hardly hold on, even though I had my arms locked around him, but it was exciting.
When we got back and dismounted, he asked me if I would like to ride in an aerobatic plane. Of course I said yes - it was something I had not done before. We all climbed into the car and drove out to the airport, where we met his friend who wore a German aerobatics champion. He invited me to go up with him, and I of course jumped at the chance. When I was settled in the cockpit he said, "I'll watch you and if you get sick we will land. I've never been sick in a plane, so I just nodded.
As soon as we took off, he handed the controls to me and told me to climb to four thousand feet, which I did. When I leveled off, he took over and without any warning went into his program - inside and outside loops, snap rolls, barrel rolls, stalls, spins, all of it. It seemd to go on for hours, and I was constatly involuntarily reaching for my seat belt to have something to hold on to. I have a very strong stomach, but I was happy when he signaled we were going down. As we turned into what I thought was our final approach, I could see Yoshiko and Peter Hoffman waiting for us on the tarmac, smiling and waving.
But just as we came over the edge of the runway, he rolled the plane upside down at about fifty feet and gunned it. We were so low I felt like my head was almost scraping the runway. My wife said she could see my hair hanging straight down as we whizzed by. I get a kick out of roller coasters and such things, which last about three minutes. Yoshiko and I both rode the stand-up roller coaster at Science Expo '85 in Japan. But thirty minutes of aerobatics was the longest thrill I have had, a little too long. I must confess my legs were very shaky when I finally climbed up of the little stunt plane, and my thank you may have sounded a bit hollow.
本人が英語で書いたものだそうです。翻訳（朝日新聞社）も出ています。ペーターがピーターとなってるのは残念です。まあ、原本のほうも、Hofmann ではなく、Hoffman になってます。
ホフマンが個人的に知り合った最初の日本人は、ソニーの創業者、盛田昭夫氏でした。彼の著書『メイド・イン・ジャパン』にもありますが、盛田氏は、1983年のバイロイト音楽祭の時、ホフマンに招待され、その自宅を訪問したのです。ホフマンのホームページ(2009年7月消滅）にも、その時の写真と説明があります。ザルツブルク音楽祭からバイロイト音楽祭の音楽の話題、オーディオ機器からホンダのオートバイのテクノロジーの話題など、とても気が合ったということです。盛田氏は、ホフマンの運転するオートバイ（ホンダ1200cc）に同乗して、最高瞬間時速220キロを楽しみます。そして、ホフマンの飛行機操縦の先生、アクロバット飛行の世界選手権保持者マンフレート・シュテッセンロイターの飛行機に同乗、宙返り飛行を体験しますが、飛行機操縦免許を持っている盛田氏もさすがに膝ががくがく、胃の具合がおかしくなったそうです。この先生はその後、飛行中の事故で亡くなり、そのショックもあって、ホフマンは飛行機操縦免許を取らないまま、やめてしまったということです。
メイド・イン・ジャパン：
"Made in Japan" ソニー創業者 盛田昭夫(1921~1999)の著書
p134
I like to travel fast, although I don't consider myself a speed demon. One time when Yoshiko and I were in Bayreuth for the Wagner festival, the opera singer Peter Hoffman showed me his pride and joy, a twelvehandred-cc Honda motorcycle. This huge and powerful machine is not available in Japan, but is much in demand in Germany where they have no speed limits on the autobahn. He invited me to drive it, but I declined, saying I would prefer to ride with him, and off we went for a spin. At one hundred and forty miles an hour I could hardly hold on, even though I had my arms locked around him, but it was exciting.
When we got back and dismounted, he asked me if I would like to ride in an aerobatic plane. Of course I said yes - it was something I had not done before. We all climbed into the car and drove out to the airport, where we met his friend who wore a German aerobatics champion. He invited me to go up with him, and I of course jumped at the chance. When I was settled in the cockpit he said, "I'll watch you and if you get sick we will land. I've never been sick in a plane, so I just nodded.
As soon as we took off, he handed the controls to me and told me to climb to four thousand feet, which I did. When I leveled off, he took over and without any warning went into his program - inside and outside loops, snap rolls, barrel rolls, stalls, spins, all of it. It seemd to go on for hours, and I was constatly involuntarily reaching for my seat belt to have something to hold on to. I have a very strong stomach, but I was happy when he signaled we were going down. As we turned into what I thought was our final approach, I could see Yoshiko and Peter Hoffman waiting for us on the tarmac, smiling and waving.
But just as we came over the edge of the runway, he rolled the plane upside down at about fifty feet and gunned it. We were so low I felt like my head was almost scraping the runway. My wife said she could see my hair hanging straight down as we whizzed by. I get a kick out of roller coasters and such things, which last about three minutes. Yoshiko and I both rode the stand-up roller coaster at Science Expo '85 in Japan. But thirty minutes of aerobatics was the longest thrill I have had, a little too long. I must confess my legs were very shaky when I finally climbed up of the little stunt plane, and my thank you may have sounded a bit hollow.
本人が英語で書いたものだそうです。翻訳（朝日新聞社）も出ています。ペーターがピーターとなってるのは残念です。まあ、原本のほうも、Hofmann ではなく、Hoffman になってます。
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