LA FOLLE JOURNEE DE VARSOVIE

“The Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji has amazed European critics. She is one of those magnetic Japanese musical phenomena of recent years. Her high-quality interpretation – fresh, yet radiant and balanced leave us dumbfounded at her awsome technique. Unforgettable moments”. Le Droit

Since winning the 1^st prize in the Paganini Competition in 1999 – the first Japanese to win the competition and the youngest winner in its history – Sayaka Shoji has performed under the greatest conductors, including V. Ashkenazy, S. Bychkov, Sir C. Davis, C. Dutoit, M. Jansons, L. Maazel, Z. Mehta and Y. Temirkanov, playing with some of the most prestigious orchestras. Her most recent engagements include concerts with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra. Apart from an active career as concert soloist, Sayaka Shoji performs regularly in recitals and chamber music concerts, accompanied by musicians such as V. Repin, L. Lang, I. Golan, Y. Bronfman, G. Cascioli and S. Isserlis. She has also been invited to prestigious festivals in Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Évian, Annecy and to La Folle Journée in Nantes and Tokyo. Her discography already includes an album devoted to the works of Paganini, Chausson and Waxman, recorded with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Z. Mehta (Deutsche Grammophon), a live recording of her debut performance at the Auditorium du Louvre, a program of works by Prokofiev and Shostakovich, concertos by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky recorded with the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of M.-W. Chung and a recital of Beethoven’s sonatas for violin and piano recorded together with G. Cascioli. Her latest disc on the Mirare label contains works by Bach and Reger. Sayaki Shoji’s teachers include Z. Bron, S. Gavrilov, S. Mintz, U. Ughi and R. Brengola. Shoji plays the Stradivarius “Recamier” violin, built in 1729. The instrument has been graciously loaned to the artist by Dr. Ryuzo Ueno, Honorary President of the Ueno Fine Chemicals Industry, Ltd. company.