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Appearing

conductor / Sachio FUJIOKA,

cello / Yuji ISHIKAWA

Song List

© Shin Yamagishi

Sachio FUJIOKA,（conductor）

Born in Tokyo in 1962. Sachio Fujioka studied piano and violoncello. He was the last favorite student of renowned conductor Akeo Watanabe and served as assistant to Sir Georg Solti in London. In 1990, Fujioka enrolled in the conducting department of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He received the “Sir Charles Groves Conducting Fellowship”, which is given to the young conductors of the most talented EU member states, as a special case despite being Japanese in 1992. Following his debut with the BBC Philharmonic in November 1993, he made his debut in the London summer tradition “BBC PROMS” conducted the BBC Philharmonic in 1994. He was a great success and has since performed as a guest performer in many overseas orchestras. He has also attracted attention as an opera at the Teatro Nacional de Oviedo in Spain, and in November 2024, on the 100th anniversary of Fauré’s death, he had the honor of conducting the Requiem at the Madeleine in Paris. In 2001, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra and will bigin 26th season in January 2025 as principal and from April 2025, he will serve as General Director. In 2019, he was appointed as Principal Guest Conductor of the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra. Fujioka has released 8 CDs with the BBC Philharmonic including the works of Japanese composer Takashi Yoshimatsu on the British label CHANDOS, and the complete Sibelius’s Symphonies with Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra on ALM RECORDS in September 2021 . He also appears in TV program “Enter the Music” since October 2014. (BS TV TOKYO every Saturday from 8:30a.m.) He was the recipient Akeo Watanabe Foundation Music Award in 2002.

© K.Seki

Yuji ISHIKAWA（cello）

Born in 1997, in Nagoya, Japan, Ishikawa started to play cello at the age of eight, and continued his study at Tokyo University of Music with special distinction. He graduated the University with summa cum laude and completed the postgraduate course in 2001. Ishikawa’s mentors were Shuya Matsushita, Ryoichi Hayashi, Akimichi Hoshino, Fumiaki Kono, and Ryosuke Hori. He won the second prize in the 8th Japan Chamber Music Competition (1998) and the first prize (no 2nd prize selected) in the 68th Music Competition of Japan “Cello,” with Kuroyanagi award (1999). During the same year, Ishikawa became a transfer and scholarship student between Okinawa International Music Festival 1999and Chigiana Music Academy in Siena, Italy, which gave him an opportunity to study cello under Mario Brunello. In 2002, Ishikawa won the Best Young Player Award from the 8th Ogaki Music Festival. His soloist activities include concerts with Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra, and Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, all highly acclaimed. Ishikawa was the principal cello of Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and became the principal cello of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra in 2005. Ishikawa is a recipient of the 2010 DOGIN Arts and Culture Encouragement Award and is a part-time senior lecturer of Hokkaido University of Education, Iwamizawa Campus.