Kazuki Yamada (山田和樹; born 26 January 1979) is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

conductor.

Biography

Yamada was born in Hadano,

Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...

Prefecture. He studied music, with a focus on percussion, at the

Tokyo University of the Arts or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

, where his conducting teachers included

Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi is a Japanese conductor and composer. In Japan he is known among his fans as “Kobaken.” Biography Born in Iwaki, Fukushima, Kobayashi's father was a high school music teacher, and mother was a primary school teacher. Kobayashi started ...

and Yoko Matsuo. Whilst at the university, he and fellow students founded an orchestra, the TOMATO Philharmonic Orchestra, with Yamada as its music director. The orchestra renamed itself the Yokohama Sinfonietta in 2005, and incorporated professionally in 2011. Yamada was the first prize winner in the 51st Besançon International Conducting Competition in 2009. Other honours include the Akeo Watanabe Music Foundation Music Award and the Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award, both dating from 2012. He holds the post of 'permanent conductor' of the

Japan Philharmonic The (JPO) is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, with administrative offices in Suginami. History The orchestra was established on June 22, 1956, as the exclusive subsidiary orchestra under the Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. Akeo Wat ...

, and is contracted with the orchestra through August 2017. In September 2017, the

Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese symphony orchestra administratively based in Tokyo. The orchestra primarily performs concerts in Tokyo at the Suntory Hall, but also gives concerts at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The orchestra also performs in Yokohama a ...

announced the appointment of Yamada as its next principal guest conductor, effective April 2018, with an initial contract of three years. In Europe, Yamada first guest-conducted the

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History Er ...

(OSR) in 2010. He became the OSR's principal guest conductor in 2012, with an initial contract of 3 years, after attempts to secure him as the orchestra's next principal conductor did not come to fruition. In June 2014, his contract as principal guest conductor of the OSR was extended through 31 August 2017. Yamada has conducted several commercial recordings with the OSR for the Pentatone label. Yamada first guest-conducted the

Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (french: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, OPMC) is the main orchestra in the Principality of Monaco. The orchestra gives concerts primarily in the Auditorium Rainier III, but also performs at the Salle ...

(OPMC) in 2011. In the fall of 2013, he became the orchestra's principal guest conductor. In April 2015, the OPMC announced the appointment of Yamada as its next principal conductor and artistic director, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of three years. In September 2020, the OPMC announced the most recent contract extension for Yamada, through the 2023-2024 season. Yamada first guest-conducted the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

(CBSO) in 2012. In May 2018, the CBSO announced the appointment of Yamada as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2018–2019 season. In January 2021, the CBSO announced the extension of Yamada's contract as principal guest conductor with CBSO until 2023. In September 2021, the CBSO announced the appointment of Yamada as its next chief conductor and artistic advisor, effective 1 April 2023, with an initial contract of 4.5 years. Yamada, his wife, and their family reside in Berlin.

Selected discography

* Georges Bizet - '' L'Arlésienne'' Suites; Gabriel Fauré - ''Masques et Bergamasques'';

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

- ''Faust'' Ballet Music. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Pentatone PTC 5186358 (2013) * Richard Strauss, Franz Liszt,

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

, Ferruccio Busoni, Franz Schreker - Orchestral works. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Pentatone PTC 5186518 (2014) * ''Russian Dances.''

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

- Suite from '' Swan Lake''; Alexander Glazunov - 2 Concert Waltzes; Dmitri Shostakovich - ''The Golden Age''; Igor Stravinsky - '' Circus Polka''. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Pentatone PTC 5186557 (2016) * Albert Roussel - '' Bacchus & Ariane''; Claude Debussy - ''Six Épigraphes Antiques''; Francis Poulenc - ''

Les Biches ''Les biches'' () ("The Hinds" or "The Does", or "The Darlings") is a one-act ballet to music by Francis Poulenc, choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska and premiered by the Ballets Russes on 6 January 1924 at the Salle Garnier in Monte Carlo. Ni ...

''. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Pentatone PTC 5186558 (2016) *

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first ...

- ''

Noches en los Jardines de España ''Nights in the Gardens of Spain'' ( es, Noches en los jardines de España), G. 49, is a piece of music by the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. Falla was Andalusian and the work refers to the Hispano-Arabic past of this region (Al-Andalus). F ...

'' / ''

El sombrero de tres picos ''El sombrero de tres picos'' (''The Three-Cornered Hat'' or ''Le tricorne'') is a ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine to music by Manuel de Falla. It was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev and premiered in 1919. It is not only a ballet with ...

''.

Mari Kodama (born 1967) is a classical pianist who has performed in Europe, North America and Japan. Background Kodama was born in Osaka, Japan in 1967 and raised in Germany and Paris, France due to her father's postings in these countries as well as Switze ...

, Sophie Harmsen, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Pentatone PTC 5186598 (2017) * Maurice Ravel and George Gershwin - Piano Concertos.

Denis Kozhukhin Denis Kozhukhin (born in Nizhny Novgorod, 1986) is a Russian pianist who was awarded third prize in the 2006 Leeds International Piano Competition. He was also awarded first prize in the 2010 Belgian Queen Elisabeth Competition for piano. Record ...

. PENTATONE PTC 5186620 (2018).

References

External links

Official Kazuki Yamada homepage, biography

Konzertdirektion Schmid agency biography of Kazuki Yamada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamada, Kazuki 1979 births 21st-century conductors (music) Japanese conductors (music) Japanese male conductors (music) Living people People from Hadano, Kanagawa