𝔹𝕚𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕙𝕪
Sayako SHINONAGA
－Pianist
Grand Prix Winner of the 39th PTNA Piano Competition, where she also received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award, the Tokyo City Philharmonic Award, and the Yomiuri Shimbun Award, she is widely regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of her generation in Japan.
Born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, she began her musical studies at the age of three. She graduated from the Piano Performance Course at Tokyo College of Music and completed her master's degree there as a specially selected scholarship student. She further refined her artistry at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where she completed a prestigious postgraduate program.
She has garnered top prizes at numerous leading competitions, including First Prize at the 37th Iizuka New Artist Music Competition (with multiple special awards) and First Prize at the 1st Imola International Piano Audition in Japan. Her artistic excellence has also been recognized through distinctions such as the IMA Music Prize at the Ishikawa Music Academy and her selection as a featured artist at the Hokuriku Rising Artists Concert.
On the international stage, she has established a strong presence across Europe, receiving Second Prize at the Delia Steinberg International Piano Competition, Third Prize at the Orbetello International Piano Competition, and Second Prize along with a Special Award at the Les Étoiles du Piano International Competition. In the wake of these distinctions, she has garnered increasing international acclaim, leading to invitations to prestigious festivals such as the Lille Piano Festival.
As a soloist, she has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Taijiro Iimori, Michiyoshi Inoue, Kazumasa Watanabe, and Arie van Beek, appearing with orchestras such as Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Picardie.
Her concert career has taken her to major venues across Japan and throughout Europe, including Germany, France, Poland, Austria, Italy, and Spain, where she has appeared in both concert series and international music festivals.
In recent years, she has further deepened her artistic profile through a wide range of solo and chamber music performances. In 2025, she presented the complete piano solo works of Maurice Ravel in two critically acclaimed recitals, demonstrating exceptional interpretative depth and stylistic refinement.
Her artistic activities also extend to media, where she has contributed as piano supervisor, performer, and instructor for television productions including NHK's drama Echoes of Vietnam and TBS's To the Ends of Hell.
She has studied under eminent pianists and pedagogues including Chieko Maeda, Tomoko Izumiya, Ryuta Ono, Chikako Shimizume, Aya Tsurumi, Michiko Ohno, Rie Ishii, Hironao Suzuki, Mizuho Nakada, Hiroo Sato, Kazuko Sumi, and Anna Malikova.
Since April 2024, she has been engaged in teaching in the Piano Department at Tokyo University of the Arts, while also serving as a competition adjudicator. She is a full member of the Piano Teachers' National Association of Japan (PTNA).