Nobuko Imai
Nobuko Imai, Japan
With her exceptional talent, musical integrity, and charisma, Nobuko Imai is considered to be one of the most outstanding violists of our time. After finishing her studies at the Toho School of Music, Yale University and the Juilliard School, she won top prizes at both the Munich and Geneva competitions.
Formerly a member of the esteemed Vermeer Quartet, Ms. Imai combines a distinguished international solo career with various teaching commitments. She has appeared with a number of prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw, and the Chicago Symphony. As a keen chamber musician, she has performed with prominent artists such as Gidon Kremer, Midori, Isaac Stern, Mischa Maisky, Menahem Pressler, among many others. In 2003, she formed the Michelangelo Quartet, which quickly gained international reputation and is now one of the world’s finest quartets.
Ms. Imai has dedicated a large part of her artistic activity to exploring the diverse potentials of the viola. In 1995/1996 Nobuko Imai was artistic director of three Hindemith Festivals in London, New York, and Tokyo. The annual Viola Space project in Japan, which was founded on her initiative in 1992, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. Ms. Imai is currently professor at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Kronberg International Academy, and Queen Sofia College of Music in Madrid. She is also professor extraordinarius at the Ueno Gakuen University in Tokyo and guest professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.