Chisato Kusunoki

Chisato Kusunoki’s style of playing reflects her interest and study of pianists such as Ignaz Friedman and Benno Moiseiwitsch. Born in Germany, she has lived in London since 1993. She read music at University College, Oxford, where she graduated with the prestigious Gibbs Prize in performance. Thereafter she completed her postgraduate performance diploma with a distinction at the Royal Academy of Music. She studied with Nicholas Austin and Hamish Milne and has also worked with Dmitri Bashkirov, Alexander Satz, Rosalyn Tureck and Ronald Stevenson. Chisato Kusunoki performs regularly in many of the world’s finest venues and concert series, both in recital and with orchestra including the South Bank Centre, London, Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo, Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore and Wigmore Hall, London. She has also toured extensively in Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus and the Far East. Her repertoire ranges from the earliest keyboard masters to contemporary composers. She has an abiding love of the classics yet she also enjoys exploring less known works particularly by composers of the late romantic period. She has made a particular study of the music of Medtner and Kazhlaev music. She has had works written for her by Justin Connolly, Ronald Stevenson and David Hackbridge Johnson. She was invited by Murad Kazhlaev to his birth place Baku, where she gave a concert at the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall. She then travelled with him and his wife to their family homeland, Makhachkala. Whilst there she played at the Makhachkala Murad Kazhlaev School of Music for Talented Children (founded by the composer) and at the Makhachkala Philharmonic Hall. Chisato Kusunoki has given further concerts of Kazhlaev’s music in Moscow and their friendship continues to this day.