Kumi Ogano

Pianist Kumi Ogano has earned universal acclaim as one of the authoritative performers of music by Japanese composers Toru Takemitsu and Akira Miyoshi. "The New York Times" praised her playing as “gracefully voiced, sensitively shaped, and richly emotional,” and, "The Asahi" wrote, “Her rich musicality and technical virtuosity are simply amazing.”

Her Philips CD of Toru Takemitsu PianoWorks, which is currently distributed with Decca label, was praised by critics from such magazines as "Telerama" in France and "High Performance Review" in the United States. Her recording of Akira Miyoshi Piano Works for Empire Master Sounds, which was released with Philips label in Japan and later distributed by Koch International, was highly acclaimed by “The Asahi” and “Record Geijutsu” in Japan and “American Record Guide” in the United States. Her other recordings include Mendelssohn Piano Works (EMS/Koch), Complete Works for Violin and Piano by Toru Takemitsu (Fontec) and the Disklavier recordings of Piano Works by Liszt and Rachmaninoff (Yamaha).

Kumi Ogano graduated from Toho-Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo in 1978 and received an Artist’s Diploma with the highest distinction from the Indiana University School of Music in 1982, studying with Gyorgy Sebok, James Tocco, Kiyoko Tanaka, and Aiko Iguchi. Her prizes include first prize in the Rikskonsertene Competition in Oslo in 1982, bronze medal in the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest in 1986, and the Chopin Prize from The Frederic Chopin Society of Japan in 1988.

Ms. Ogano has appeared with major orchestras in Japan and Europe, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Japan Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Japan, the Bergen Philharmonic, the Budapest Philharmonic, the Rubinstein Philharmonic and the Szczecin Philharmonic in Europe, with such conductors as Ivan Fischer, Jiri Belohlavek, Andras Ligeti, Stefan Marczyk, Karsten Anderson, Tadaaki Otaka and Michiyoshi Inoue. Ms. Ogano has performed in recitals and appeared frequently on radio and television throughout Japan, Belgium, Norway, Hungary, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Kumi Ogano resides in New York City and has been on the piano faculty at Connecticut College since 1994.

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Majoring in Music.