was a Japanese

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Born Hiroko Fukuda in Yamanashi, she grew up in Tokyo. She began to study piano at the age of 3 at

Toho Gakuen School of Music is a private music school in Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. History Toho Gakuen was founded in 1948 in Ichigaya (Tokyo) as the Music School for Children, and two years later moved to Sengawa (current address at Wakabacyo, Chofushi, Tokyo) and opened th ...

under Aiko Iguchi. In 1959, whilst a student at Chutobu Junior High School, she won first prize at the National Music Competition of Japan at age 15. In 1963, she began piano studies at the Juilliard School of Music, and studied under

Rosina Lhévinne Rosina Lhévinne (née Bessie; March 29, 1880 – November 9, 1976) was a Russian pianist and famed pedagogue born in Kyiv, Russian Empire. Early life, education and family Rosina Bessie was the younger of two daughters of Maria (née Katz) and ...

. In 1965, at the

VII International Chopin Piano Competition The VII International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, VII Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 21 February to 16 March 1965 in Warsaw. The competition was won by Martha Argerich of Argentina, becoming the fir ...

, she won 4th prize, the youngest prizewinner that year, and was the second Japanese prizewinner in the history of the Chopin Competition. Nakamura was a juror at many major piano competitions, including the Chopin in Poland, the Tchaikovsky in Russia, the Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition (1987), the Arthur Rubinstein in Israel, the Busoni in Italy and so on. She also served as the chairperson of the jury of the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition and as the Music Director of the Hamamatsu International Piano Academy. She received the 2005 ExxonMobil Music Award. She was also a nonfiction writer, critic and television personality. She wrote four books. Her first book, ''The Tchaikovsky Competition'' (''チャイコフスキーコンクール'', ''Chaikofusukii Konkūru''), written about her experiences on the juries at the 1982 and 1986 Tchaikovsky Competitions in Moscow, won the 20th Ohya Non-Fiction Prize in 1989. Another of her books was ''Pianisuto to Iu Banzoku ga Iru'' ('' ピアニストという蛮族がいる''; approximately translated 'Savages Called Pianists'). Nakamura lived in Mita, Tokyo with her husband Kaoru Shōji, one of the winners of

Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History The ...

. Shōji had mentioned Nakamura by name in his novel ''Akazukin-chan Ki wo Tsukete''. The two subsequently met in person and married. She was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2014, and suspended her performances for treatment. She briefly performed again in the spring of 2016, and her final performance was on 8 May 2016 in Sumoto, Kumamoto Prefecture. Her husband survives her.

References

External links

Stanisław Dybowski, The Fryderyk Chopin Institute (Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina), profile of Hiroko Nakamura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Hiroko 1944 births 2016 deaths Japanese classical pianists Japanese women pianists Toho Gakuen School of Music alumni Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Musicians from Yamanashi Prefecture Juilliard School alumni Dreamusic artists