Sakata Tomoki

Sakata Tomoki won First Prize along with six special prizes in the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition 2016. He won Fourth Place in the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2021.

After studying at the Tokyo University of the Arts, Sakata is currently studying in the soloist course of the graduate school at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. He has been praised in many competitions including the 14th Cliburn Competition where he was the youngest prize winner at the age of 19. Sakata won the Grand Prix of the Superior Grade, and other five special prizes including the Audience Prize in the PTNA (Piano Teachers’ National Association of Japan) Piano Competition, the special prize for his Mozart performance in the Cleveland International Piano Competition, and First Prize (the first Japanese winner) and the Audience Prize in the Kissinger KlavierOlymp.

He has performed in more than 20 countries around the world, as well as in Japan, and in numerous international music festivals. He made his CD debut in 2015, and he released an ambitious album of arrangements, including the world’s first recording, in March 2020. Sakata released his piano arrangement collection Vocalise in May 2022, and After a Dream in July 2023, and published his composition Sonatine for Alto Saxophone and Piano from Ongaku-no-tomo-sha in November 2023. He has made many appearances on TV, radio and other media in Japan and abroad. Sakata is the winner of the Culture and Art Encouragement Award of the Yokohama Culture Award 2017, the 32nd Idemitsu Music Award in 2023, the 72nd Future Prize of the Kanagawa Culture Awards, and the 20th Best Debutante of the Year.