Mayu Kishima

Violin

Biography

First Prize winner in the First Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition in 2016.

In 2000, she caused a stir in the music world when she became the youngest-ever Japanese top prizewinner in the Junior Division of the 8th Wieniawski International Competition in Lublin. She became a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium in 2009, and she was awarded First Prize in the International Music Competition Cologne in 2011.

In 2005, Kishima performed with the Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich (Rome and Madrid, February); the National Symphony (Washington, D.C., May); the London Symphony Orchestra (London, June); and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Munich and other locations, July). She was praised by the influential Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, which said: "She was made known to the world by Rostropovich in the same way that Karajan made Anne-Sofie Mutter famous and Maazel made Hilary Hahn famous."

Kishima has participated in several recordings thus far. On the strong recommendation of Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was the Music Director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, she performed "Tzigane" on Ravel: Orchestral Works. The recording of her performance at the 2015 Progetto Martha Argerich festival in Lugano was included in the live recording CD Argerich & Friends, released on Warner Music in May 2016.

Her recent activities include concerts at the Martha Argerich festival in Lugano, where she performed with Martha Argerich and Misha Maisky; and concerts with Yuri Bashmet both in Japan and Sochi. In November 2018, she received high praise for her performance of the Shostakovich Violin Concerto　No.1 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karina Canellakis in Melbourne, Australia.

In spring 2012, she graduated with the top grade from the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, where she studied with Zakhar Bron. In autumn 2015, she graduated at the top of her class from the graduate school of the Hochschule für Musik, with all professors awarding her highest grades, and received Germany’s national qualification for musicians.

The Antonio Stradivari 1699 "Walner" violin has been specially loaned to Mayu Kishima by the NPO Yellow Angel and the Munetsugu Collection.