The legendary pianist and a teacher, Gyögy Sebök described Kyoko Hashimoto “extraordinary musical talent” “one of the finest of her generation”.
Kyoko Hashimoto was born in Tokyo and began to study the piano at the age of three. After graduating from the Toho-Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, she studied at the International Menuhin Music Academy, Indiana University and the Juilliard School. She received full scholarships from the Menuhin Academy and the Juilliard School. Among her teachers were György Sebök, Menahem Pressler, György Janzer, William Masselos, György Sandor, Felix Galimir, György Kurtág and Ferenc Rados.
She has been regularly performing throughout the world, so far in more than 25 countries, including many major cities and halls such as the Wigmore Hall in London, the Lincoln Center and the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, etc. She has been invited to many important festivals including the Prague Spring Festival, the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival and the Saito Kinen Festival. Besides performing Solo recitals in many countries in Europe, North America and Asia, she has performed Concertos with distinguished orchestras such as the Prague Chamber philharmonic Orchestra and the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed over 1000 works from pre-Baroque to pieces written very recently. She has performed on Harpsichord, Fortepiano and other Keyboard instruments in addition to modern piano. She has performed as well many duo recitals with Ruggiero Ricci(Vn), Thomas Zehetmair(Vn) and Antonio Meneses(Vc), and duo and chamber music concerts with artists such as Sandor Vegh(Vn), Mischa Maisky(Vc), Jean-Jacque Kantorow(Vn), Aaron Rosand(Vn), Ralph Kirshbaum(Vc), Steven Isserlis(Vc), András Adorján(Fl), Patrick Gallois(Fl), Maurice Bourgue(Ob), Hansjörg Schellenberger(Ob), Barry Tuckwell(Hr), Atar Arad(Va), Anthony Marwood(Vn), Nobuko Imai(Va) Sergio Azzolini(Fg), Isabelle van Keulen(Vn), Chantal Juillet(Vn), Hermann Baumann(Hr), Regis Pasquier(Vn), Matt Haimovitz(Vc) and Bruno Giuranna(Va).
Ms. Hashimoto was awarded numerous prizes such as the 1st grand prize and the public prize at the Concours International de Musique Française, the top prize at the Concours Musical de France, and the special prizes at the Budapest International Music Competition and at the Spohr International Competition. She has recorded many times for TV and radio all over the world including a series of 20 works by Beethoven for Dutch radio. She has been a frequent performer for CBC (Canada) and BBC (UK) and in 2012, she was chosen as representative performance for the Schubert Impromptus together with Edwin Fischer, William Kapell and Wilhelm Backhaus for BBC “Schubert Marathon”. She has also made more than a dozen CD-recordings, including the early piano pieces (all the Preludes+4 pieces) by Messiaen, 34 piano pieces by Schumann, 24 Preludes by Scriabin combined with 24 Preludes by Shostakovich, 4 Impromptus by Schubert, 12 Preludes Book II by Debussy as well as Partita by Bach, variations by Beethoven, 16 Waltzes by Brahms, Dance Suite by Bartók and Mazurkas by Blumenfeld.
She is Professor of Piano and Chair of Piano Area at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and was on the piano faculty and the chamber music faculty of the Utrecht Conservatory in Holland for 12 years. She has been invited many times as a visiting professor at the European Mozart Academy in Poland and in the Czech Republic and at the International Chamber Music Academy in the Czech Republic, as well as at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Trinity College in London, the U.K.. She served as an International Jury member for many competitions such as the Gina Bachauer International Piano Artists Competition, CMC Stepping Stone Competition, Montreal International Piano Competition and YAMAHA Benelux Competition. She has been the Artistic Director of the International Music Workshop and Festival (IMWF) in the Czech Republic, Germany and in Portugal since 2004. She has also given master classes in France, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, the Czech Republic, the U.S.A., the UK, Holland, Germany, Taiwan, Brazil, China and Japan.
- What is music to you?
My life, my love. - Which musician inspires you and why?
Any great musicians with sincere attitude. - What would you suggest to those who want to embark on this world?
I guess you meant for the young musicians: do not forget that we are very lucky that we can dedicate to something so beautiful and worthwhile. - One question you always wanted to get and why?
I don't have any... I can't express music with words.