Takezawa Kyoko

Takezawa Kyoko won the first prize at the 51st Japan Music Competition while a music student at Toho Gakuen Music High School and was the overwhelming winner of the 2nd Indianapolis International Violin Competition in 1986. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Royal Concertgebow Orchestra, and many renowned conductors including Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, and Seiji Ozawa. Takezawa was invited to perform as soloist on a tour in Spain with Philharmonia Orchestra, a tour with Hamburg NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and on Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra’s 100th anniversary world tour. She has also been involved in educational activities and has served as a jury member for many international competitions. Takezawa has appeared at world-class music festivals such as Aspen and Lucerne, and recently participated in the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, and the MUSIC FESTIVAL Argerich’s Meeting Point in Beppu (Beppu Argerich Music Festival). She won the Idemitsu Music Award in 1993, Cultural Prize of the Aichi Prefecture Art and Culture Award in 1999, Honorary Osaka Citizen’s Honor Award in 2021, and the 78th Chunichi Cultural Award in 2025. Her instrument is the Antonio Stradivarius 1724. She is a professor at Tokyo College of Music, a specially appointed professor at Toho Gakuen School of Music, and a visiting professor at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music.
Takezawa is a resident artist of “Shiiki presents Argerich’s Haus.”