Artists

Reiko Aizawa

Praised by the NY Times for her “impressive musicality, a crisp touch and expressive phrasing”, Japanese pianist Rieko Aizawa has performed in solo and orchestral engagements throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, including Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall and Vienna’s Konzerthaus.

On the recommendation of the pianist Mitsuko Uchida, thirteen-year-old Rieko was brought to the attention of esteemed conductor, Alexander Schneider. He engaged Rieko at the opening concerts of Tokyo’s Casals Hall, and later that year, he presented her in her U.S. début concerts at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall with his New York String Orchestra. Rieko was the last pupil of Mieczyslaw Horszowski at the Curtis Institute and she also studied with Seymour Lipkin and Peter Serkin at the Juilliard School.

Rieko is also an active chamber musician. She has performed as a guest with string quartets such as the Guarneri Quartet and the Orion Quartet. She is a founding member of Duo Prism with violinist Jesse Mills.

In 2005 Rieko’s solo debut recording of Scriabin’s and Shostakovich’s “24 Preludes” was released by Altus in Japan, and her second album of Messiaen’s and Faure’s preludes is coming out in 2010.