Akiko Suwanai

Praised by The Times for her “noble playing, with its rhythmic life, taut and rigorous,” Japanese violinist Akiko Suwanai was the youngest ever winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1990. Since then she has enjoyed a flourishing international career and appears regularly with celebrated maestros and foremost orchestras across the globe.

This season Akiko Suwanai debuts at Opéra National de Paris, performing the choreographed version of Salonen’s violin concerto. On this occasion Opéra Bastille sees a series of 13 ballet performances staged by Saburo Teshigawara and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Other 2017/18 highlights include season opening with the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla and John Axelrod, as well as returns to Orchestre de Paris for Sibelius’ Violin Concerto with Paavo Järvi, and Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai for Salonen’s Violin Concerto with Jonathan Webb. Suwanai returns to the Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra with Vasily Petrenko, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Gianandrea Noseda, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Hamburger Symphoniker, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, and Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse with Tugan Sokhiev.

In recent years, Akiko Suwanai has established collaborations with Bamberger Symphoniker and Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Leonard Slatkin. She performed in Russia with Valery Gergiev and The Mariinsky Orchestra, in Hong Kong with Hong Kong Philharmonic and Lawrence Foster, in Germany with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln and François-Xavier Roth, and in the US with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Pablo Heras-Casado.

Akiko Suwanai is the Artistic Director of the International Music Festival NIPPON which she launched in 2012, offering a variety of orchestral and chamber music concerts, master classes and regular charity concerts for the Great East Japan Earthquake. The Festival also organizes World/Japanese premieres and commissions new works by international composers.

Akiko Suwanai performs on the “Charles Reade” Guarneri del Gesu violin c1732, on long-term loan from Dr. Ryuji Ueno, who has Japanese roots and living in the US.

2020/21 season only.