Tomoko Kato
(VIOLINIST)
"Tomoko Kato demonstrated her beautiful sound and very musical interpretative skills, by successfully communicating to this packed audience the joy of playing the violin" (Sept. 27, 1995 at Suntory Hall recital).
Starting the violin lessons at the age of four, she studied with some of Japan's most respected teachers, including Eiko Mikami, Ryosaku Kubota, and Toshiya Etoh. In 1976, Kato entered Toho Gakuen School of Music and in 1978 won both first prize and the Leucadia Award in the violin division of the 47th Japan Music Competition. In 1979, she studied at the New England Conservatory of Music under Dorothy DeLay and Laurence Lesser. While studying in America, she has won the Mayor Award (Tanglewood Festival 1980), a fellowship to the 1981 Aspen Music Festival, and the Japan Agency of Cultural Affairs' scholarship to attend The Juilliard School for two years, where she studied with Robert Mann and Samuel Rose. She gave a recital at the 1982 Aspen Music Festival and was a student to Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music Festival during the summers of 1983 and 1984.
Tomoko Kato won the second prize at the 7th Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1982. Since returning to Japan in 1983, she appeared regularly with Japan's prominent orchestras and leading conductors. Kato founded the Lilia Ensemble in 1991, a chamber group based near Tokyo. Through their performances, Kato works to introduce new artists to the public, and the group is frequently featured on NHK television and radio programs. In 1993, Kato toured Italy, Egypt and Brussels with Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky.
International invitations then took her to the 1987 Algerian Music Festival, followed by a recital tour of Algeria, Morocco, Greece, and Turkey. In 1988, she toured as the soloist for the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra during their European tour. And in October of 1991, she made well-received tours to both China and Korea. In 1993, she toured Southeast Asia with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra and made recordings in Moscow and Los Angeles.
In more recent years, Kato's schedule included performances with the Orchestre National de Lyon and Maestro Krivine, performances of Bach Violin Sonatas with accordion player Stefan Hussong, and engagements at the Miyazaki International Chamber Music Festival, the Helsinki Music Festival and the International Chamber Music Festival Leipzig. In 2000, Kato will tour as the soloist for the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia in Japan and in St. Petersburg.
