Kaoruko Igarashi
Japanese pianist Kaoruko Igarashi is the winner of the 3rd Prize and the Rose-Marie Huguenin Prize of the 76th Geneva International Music Competition held in 2022 in Switzerland.
Kaoruko started to take piano lessons at the Toho Gakuen Music School for Children, Tokyo at age 6. Later as a student of the Toho Gakuen College Music Department, she won the 3rd Prize and the Miyake Prize (for the most impressive performance during the competition) at the Music Competition of Japan. While in school, she also received the PTNA Piano Competition’s B Grade Gold Prize and Superior Grade Bronze Prize, Chopin Piano Competition in ASIA National Tournament’s Gold Prize and Asian Tournament’s Silver Prize, Chopin Competition in Japan’s 3rd Prize and other numerous competition prizes. When she graduated from the Toho Gakuen College as a top student, she performed at the Toka Gakudo auditorium inside the Imperial Palace in the presence of the Royal family members. The same year, she also performed in their presence to welcome the Queen of the Belgium during her visit to Japan.
As a soloist, Kaoruko has performed with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic) to name a few, alongside conductors including Andrea Battistoni, Leoš Svárovský, Toshiaki Umeda, Kosuke Tsunoda and Masahiko Enkoji.
Kaoruko has received prestigious scholarships from the Toho Gakuen Music High School (2010), Toho Gakuen College (2014), Meiji Yasuda QOL (2014-2015), Leipzig’s Mendelssohn Academy, Germany (2016), Toho Gakuen College Sengawa Campus (2017 and 2018), Rohm Music Foundation (2018 and 2019) and others.
Kaoruko has been trained by Noriko Imaizumi, Fujiko Yamada, Genichiro Murakami, Yukio Yokoyama and Michiko Okamoto. She has given concerts both inside and outside Japan participating in festivals such as the Palermo Music Festival, Italy, Miyazaki International Music Festival and Ishikawa “Wind and Green” Music Festival.
A passionate chamber player as well, Kaoruko has performed alongside Vadim Repin, Tsugio Tokunaga, Yoko Hasegawa and others. She was awarded the Jury Special Prize for her excellent accompaniment for the Cello Division at the Music Competition of Japan 2020.
Kaoruko’s performances were on the air several times, especially on the TV show “Classic Club” (NHK) as well as the radio shows “Recital Passio” and “Bravo! Orchestra” (NHK-FM).
Official X Account: @KaorukoIgarashi