Artists

Born in Nicaragua, Susumu Aoyagi started playing the piano at the age of five in the United States. After returning to Japan, he won the first prize at the All Japan Student Music Competition. He received the West Japan Music Award while studying at Toho Gakuen School of Music, and later studied at the Berlin University of the Arts.　In 1992, he won the prize at the Marguerite Long=Thibaud International Competition. Since then, he has performed at the Embassy of Japan in Paris, Radio France, various places in Germany and the United States. He won the first prizes at the numerous international competitions including Jaen (Spain), Alfredo Casella (Italy), and Pollino (Italy). In 1997, he started giving concerts in Japan, and was awarded the Aoyama Music Prize in 2000, and the Japan Chopin Society Prize in 2001. He has released seven solo albums, all of which have received high acclaim. In 2006, he started his own recital series, “Liszt’s Room,” focusing on Liszt’s works, which was held for the 15th time in 2020. He has performed with many orchestras in Japan and abroad. In recent years, he has been active in chamber music concerts. In March 2012, he gave his debut performance at the Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall, which was highly praised by the local media. He has been a jury for several competitions, including the Music Competition of Japan, the Tokyo Music Competition, and the Jaen International Competition. He has been a jury of the Takamatsu International Piano Competition since its first edition, and is currently involved in the production of the competition as deputy jury president. He has been a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, a visiting professor at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, a visiting professor at Sapporo Otani University, and the music director of the Nagasaki Ojika International Music Festival.