Open Master Classes Violin – Cultivating the young talent of the next generation

“Skills recognized throughout the world”are an important asset that Akiko Suwanai has gained through her experience as a celebrated violinist.
International Music Festival NIPPON’s master classes (open lessons) enthusiastically impart these skills to young musicians.
Ms. Suwanai was deeply impressed by the master class she took as an elementary school student. As a result, she has been determined to provide even children of that age with high-quality guidance from professional musicians. The two-day master class period brings together young people’s dreams of becoming successful musicians, and the music festival’s dream of supporting their aspirations.
The master classes are sure to provide a rich and meaningful experience for all.

[Instructors] Akiko Suwanai
Kyoko Yonemoto

[Dates] Tuesday, February 9 and Wednesday, February 10, 2021

[Location] Tiara Koto MAP

Master Class Schedule

※Capacity: 9 persons.
※Each participant receives a lesson from each instructor over the two days.
※The lesson schedules of participants will be decided by the festival office.

Tiara Koto

Tuesday, febraury 9

Tuesday, Febraury 9 Akiko Suwanai Kyoko Yonemoto
＊ 10:30〜11:20
11:30〜12:20 11:30〜12:20
13:20〜14:10 13:20〜14:10
14:20〜15:10 14:20〜15:10
15:20〜16:10 15:20〜16:10

Wednesday, February 10

Wednesday, February 10 Akiko Suwanai Kyoko Yonemoto
10:30〜11:20 10:30〜11:20
11:30〜12:20 11:30〜12:20
13:20〜14:10 13:20〜14:10
14:20〜15:10 14:20〜15:10
15:20〜16:10 ＊
17：30～ Class Completion Concert by master class participants

Information for Auditors

・All master class lessons will be open to general auditors.
・On Wednesday, February 10, at 17:30, a Class Completion Concert by the master class participants will be held.
・Auditing tickets for master class lessons ＜¥1,000 (including tax) each day＞ and for the Class Completion Concert by master class participants ＜¥500 (including tax＞ will go on sale On Saturday, January 30, 2021 through Japan Arts Pia.

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Akiko Suwanai (Violin / Artistic Director of International Music Festival NIPPON 2020)

Akiko Suwanai was the youngest ever winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1990. She has performed with the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Berlin Philharmonic, under the batons of Ozawa, Maazel, Dutoit, and Sawallisch, just to name a few. She has appeared in numerous international music festivals including the BBC Proms, Schleswig-Holstein, Lucerne and others. In 2018, Akiko Suwanai participated in Marth Argerich’s chamber music festival in Hamburg, the Rosendal Festival with Leif Ove Andsnes, and the Bratislava Music Festival, and performed with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and Staatskapelle Dresden. She also performed with Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin in Berlin and Japan in February and March 2019. Suwanai was a jury member of the violin divisions of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium in 2012 and 2015, and of the Concours International Long-Thibaud-Crespin in 2018. Since 2012, Akiko Suwanai has been Artistic Director of the International Music Festival NIPPON, which she plans and produces. She has released 14 CDs on the Decca label.
Akiko Suwanai studied at Toho Gakuen Music High School and completed the Soloists’ Diploma Course of Toho Gakuen College of Music. After studying at the Juilliard School and Columbia University on the Artist Overseas Training program sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, she received a master’s degree in Music from the Juilliard School. She also studied at the Universität der Künste Berlin. Akiko Suwanai performs on the Stradivarious “Dolphin” violin from 1714, which has been loaned to her by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Kyoko Yonemoto（Violin）

At the age of 13, Kyoko Yonemoto became the youngest-ever prizewinner at the 1997 Paganini Competition in Italy. She later received numerous prizes including first prize in the Paganini Moscow International Competition. In addition to appearing with major orchestras inside and outside Japan, Yonemoto has earned high praise as a chamber musician. She is currently a professor at the Maastricht Conservatorium in the Netherlands. Her CD Ysaÿe: Complete Sonatas for Violin received the Excellence Award a recipient of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Kyoko Yonemoto plays a 1727 Stradivarius violin, on loan from the Suntory Foundation for Arts.