"The Japanese pianist Shoko Kawasaki impressed with
nobility and
precision."
(Süddeutsche Zeitung)
"The exceptional Japanese pianist Shoko Kawasaki brings the audience to rapturous applause."
(DEWEZET)
Shoko Kawasaki was born in Tokyo, Japan. She won prizes at international piano competitions, like “Ennio Porrino” in Cagliari, “Massarosa International Piano Competition” in Italy, “Wettbewerb um den Musikpreis des Kulturkrei Gasteig” in Germany. She was awarded the diploma prize in international competitions, like the “Geneva International Competition” and “Grieg International Competition” in Norway. In Japan, she won prizes at the Music Competition of Japan, at the Kazuko Yasukawa Memorial International Piano Competition. In addition, Shoko has won first prizes in many other prestigious competitions in Japan, including one where she participated as a composer.
She has performed many important solo-recitals, concerts with orchestra as soloist and chamber music concerts (f.e. Italy, Spain, Norway, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Poland, Korea, U.S.A. and Cuba), as well as multiple music festivals. For example, “Winners & Masters”(Gasteig/Munich), “Klaviersoiree”(Stadttheater/Passau), “Kammerkonzerte”(Mozart-Säle/Hamburg), “Embassy-Konzerte” (Japanese Embassy/Berlin), “XXIX Festival de la Habana” (Habana/Cuba), “Japan-Korea Freindship Festival 2005” (KBS Hall/Seoul), “International Keyboard Festival” (New York), “Spring Festival in Tokio”, “O. Messiaen-Project”, “F. Chopin Festival”, “C. Debussy Anniversary Festival” (Tokio)
Her performances are often broadcasted by various radio and TV channels in Japan, Germany, Italy and other countries. Many of her recitals in Germany have received popular reviews from many German newspapers such as Süddeutsche Zeitung, Muenchener Merkur, WAZ.
2013, She received the Grazia Music Prize, which was made to honor and support young excellent artists. Shoko was the first person who received this prestigious prize.
In 2017 Shoko released first solo-album “VISIONS I -DREAM-”with Studio N.A.T. It was selected by “The Record Geijutsu” special selection board for an award, and received praise from many other newspapers and music magazines.
She graduated at the Tokyo National University of Arts (Geidai) and received the prestigious Leonid Kreutzer Prize as a top honor in her master’s degree at graduate school.
In 2014 she then obtained her doctoral degree there. Her dissertation is based on the piano etudes of G. Ligeti. It is the first analysis of this important work from the point of view of an active pianist.
In 2016 she completed her master’s degree in modern music and postgraduate program “Meisterklasse” at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.
She studied under many famous teachers such as Michael Schäfer, Jacques Rouvier. Shoko obtained further important artistic impulses from Gabriel Tacchino, Mihail Voskresensky, Vladimir Tropp, Einar Steen-Nøkleberg, Andrea Bonatta, Susumu Aoyagi and Michiko Ohno. She was a scholar of the Rohm Music Foundation, Honjo International Scholarship Foundation, Deutschland Stipendium and Oscar und Vera-Ritter Stiftung.
Currently, residing in Germany, she serves as a piano lecturer at The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-University / Theater Akademie.
She was selected by G.Henle Verlag to be the promotion manager for the Henle App.
She holds performances not only In Japan, but also across Europe.