Biography
Violinist Ayana Tsuji secured six prizes at the 2016 Montreal International Music Competition, marking her as one of Japan’s most promising young instrumentalists. Already seasoned in competitions by age 18, she soon joined the roster of Warner Classics. Born in Gifu in 1997 and raised in Ogaki, Tsuji began violin studies at three under her father, Masahiro Tsuji, who had likewise started at that age as a pupil of Shinichi Suzuki; her own early training followed the Suzuki Method. At ten she entered the 2008 Osaka International Music Competition and quickly became a regular on Japanese contest stages before expanding internationally, earning three prizes at the 2015 Joachim International Violin Competition in Hannover and a second prize at the Seoul International Music Competition that same year.
Following her Montreal success—where the honors encompassed First Prize, best performance of the compulsory Canadian work, best semifinal recital, best performance of a sonata in the semifinal round, the Back Award, and the Paganini Award—concert engagements and recording projects multiplied. She has appeared with the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Yokohama Sinfonietta, Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Sejong Soloists in Korea, and Montreal Symphony Orchestra. After taping the concertos of Charles-Auguste de Bériot with the Czech Chamber Orchestra Pardubice for Naxos in 2017, she moved to Warner Classics and issued Live in Montréal the next year, a collection drawn from her competition performances. At the time she was enrolled at the Tokyo College of Music, working with Koichiro Harada and additional instructors.
Following her Montreal success—where the honors encompassed First Prize, best performance of the compulsory Canadian work, best semifinal recital, best performance of a sonata in the semifinal round, the Back Award, and the Paganini Award—concert engagements and recording projects multiplied. She has appeared with the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Yokohama Sinfonietta, Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Sejong Soloists in Korea, and Montreal Symphony Orchestra. After taping the concertos of Charles-Auguste de Bériot with the Czech Chamber Orchestra Pardubice for Naxos in 2017, she moved to Warner Classics and issued Live in Montréal the next year, a collection drawn from her competition performances. At the time she was enrolled at the Tokyo College of Music, working with Koichiro Harada and additional instructors.
Albums
