Kyoko Takezawa

Emotional power, musical sensitivity, flawless technique, and a tone remarkable for its haunting beauty are the qualities that have established Kyoko Takezawa as one of today's foremost violinists. Ms. Takezawa's interpretive insight and virtuosity have made her a sought-after soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras.

In the summer of 2001, Ms. Takezawa performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Festival. In 2001-02 Ms. Takezawa will appear as concerto soloist and recitalist in the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Monte Carlo, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. She will tour the United States with the Moscow Philharmonic; Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur with the NHK Symphony and Charles Dutoit; the United Kingdom and Ireland with the Sapporo Symphony of Japan; and will make her debut with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall and on tour. She will also perform with the New Japan Philharmonic, the China Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Weimar Staatskapelle, the Berlin Radio Symphony, the Royal Liverpool Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony and the Orchestra of Monte Carlo. She will appear in recital in Europe and Japan, most notably at Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

In addition to her appearance at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's under Sir Charles Mackerras, the 2000-01 season found Ms. Takezawa performing as soloist with the Toronto, Utah, Alabama and Portland (ME) symphonies; and in Europe with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam with Leonard Slatkin, the Frankfurter Museumsgesellschaft, the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague and the Zagreb Philharmonic. In Asia she was also heard in Tokyo in a series of concerts with the NHK and Yomiuri symphonies; in Osaka with the Century Symphony Orchestra; and with the Taiwan Symphony and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. She appeared in recitals throughout Europe and in Japan, and during the summer she appeared at the Lucerne Festival and with the Festival Soloists in Tokyo with Yefim Bronfman.

Ms. Takezawa has performed as soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Cleveland, Baltimore, Saint Louis, Houston, Toronto, Dallas, Montreal, Detroit and Cincinnati. Abroad, she has been heard with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the London Symphony, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the NHK Symphony and the New Japan Philharmonic. She has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Sir Colin Davis, Michael Tilson Thomas, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Kurt Masur, Sir Neville Marriner, Leonard Slatkin, Charles Dutoit and Andrew Davis.

A prolific recording artist, Ms. Takezawa can be heard on BMG's RCA Victor Red Seal label. Her most recent recording is a performance of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14, by Samuel Barber with Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Her other recordings include the Elgar Violin Concerto with Sir Colin Davis and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; the Violin Concerto No. 2 by Bartók with Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony; and the Mendelssohn Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with Klaus Peter Flor and the Bamberg Symphony. Ms. Takezawa's CD of French violin sonatas was selected as one of the best recordings of 1993 by Stereo Review.

Ms. Takezawa's chamber music performances have also drawn high praise, and as co-director of the Suntory Festival Soloists of Suntory Hall in Tokyo, she has collaborated with Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Joseph Suk and many other distinguished artists. In recent seasons, she has performed at the Aspen Festival and at the first Taipei International Chamber Music Festival with Cho-Liang Lin.

Ms. Takezawa began violin studies at the age of 3 and at 7 toured the United States, Canada and Switzerland as a member of the Suzuki Method Association. In 1982 she placed first in the 51st Annual Japan Music Competition, and at 17 she entered the Aspen Music School to study with Dorothy DeLay, with whom Ms. Takezawa continued to study at The Juilliard School until graduating in 1989. In 1986 she was awarded the Gold Medal at the Second Quadrennial International Violin Competition in Indianapolis and, most recently, she received the prestigious Idemitsu Award for outstanding musicianship. Ms. Takezawa, who performs on the 'Hammer' Stradivari dated 1707, lives in New York.

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