Yokohama International Piano Concert

The Yokohama International Piano Concert has been held every autumn at the Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall. It aims to discover promising talented pianists amongst prize-winners of the world’s international piano competitions and bring them to the attention of a wider audience. This is indeed a prime example of the city’s long-standing endeavors to welcome and introduce new cultures.
This historical event started in 1982 thanks to the efforts of the late Ms. YAMAOKA Yuko, who was active worldwide as a pianist, educator and jury member at numerous international competitions, as well as musicians and supporters who believed in her vision.
The first edition took place at the Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall. It was organized by the Yokohama International Piano Concert Planning Committee, the City of Yokohama and the Yokohama City Board of Education. The following editions were held at the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall or Kannai Hall. Then the venue was moved in 1998 to the newly opened Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall which has since hosted the event every year without interruption with the Yokohama Arts Foundation as the organizer and the City of Yokohama as the co-organizer.
To date, around 200 up-and-coming pianists from 28 countries have appeared on the stage of the Yokohama International Piano Concert, playing solo or with orchestral accompaniment. Many of the pianists who performed at this concert when they were still young, are active around the world today. This project has been, therefore, making history in the piano world.

The performers are selected by the Planning Committee composed of members who are top-ranked performers themselves. In principle, candidates, invited to apply from around the world, must be thirty-five years old or younger and must have won awards at two or more international competitions. Applicants are carefully screened by the Planning Committee members who also gather information independently, carefully judge and consult with each other before the final decision.
Since the first edition, the Planning Committee (originally the Executive Committee) has included, in addition to Ms. YAMAOKA, such renowned figures as Mr. ONO Kazushi, Mr. KATOH Nobuyoshi, Mr. NOMURA Koichi, Mr. MIYAKE Yoichiroh, Mr. MIYOSHI Akira and Mr. YAMADA Kazuo. The current Planning Committee is composed of Ms. EBI Akiko, who took over Ms. YAMAOKA’s role as the Planning Chair upholding her vision, as well as the members, Mr. HORI Ryosuke, Ms. ITOH Kei, Ms. SUDA Mamiko, Mr. HIRONAKA Takashi and Mr. FUKUMA Kotaro.
The Yokohama International Piano Concert is notable for its long history during which, from the very start, has received warm and generous support from numerous people. Particularly noteworthy is Mr. HIROSE Osamu, who has welcomed the young pianists with a spirit of hospitality providing them with piano practice studios free of charge. Also, Mr. HIROSE has been financially helping the event by connecting many companies with the Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall for sponsorship.
In addition to the support from companies and individuals based in Yokohama participating in the “Friends of the Yokohama International Piano Concert” formed at the suggestion of the late Mr. HARA Noriyuki (Hotel New Grand), musical instrument companies have also been generous in supporting the event in various forms. At present, Yamaha Corporation has offered both comprehensive technical support and sponsorship to the event.
The Yokohama International Piano Concert has also placed great importance on the interaction between the performers, audiences, people of Yokohama and all those involved. In recent years, it has expanded beyond the scope of a piano concert, offering a variety of related events such as piano or chamber music master classes, special lectures on, for example, tuning and performance techniques to learn more deeply about piano and music, and talk sessions for the pianists and children to meet. It has been indeed developing year by year as a broader piano festival.

EBI Akiko is a world-class pianist. Ebi developed her career after winning the 41st Music Competition of Japan (1972) in her freshman year at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. After graduating at the top of her class from the Paris Conservatoire, she studied in the graduate school of the Conservatoire as well.
Ebi won the 2nd Grand Prix of the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition, where she was also awarded four special prizes by jurors including A. Rubinstein. She also received the 5th prize of the International Chopin Piano Competition in 1980. She has received numerous awards and official commendations, including the Frederic Chopin Society of Japan Award, two Japan Gold Disc Awards, the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government, a medal as an honorary citizen of Paris, and the Exxon-Mobile Music Award (Japan).
Ebi has long been active as a worldwide artist. To date she has performed in 36 countries including Japan, numerous countries in Europe and North America, Russia, China and countries in the Middle East. She has appeared with many orchestras including the NHK Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Argentine National Symphony, major British orchestras, Slovak Philharmonic, and Orchestra of the Sofia National Opera. A two-piano duo concert performed by Ebi and Martha Argerich was televised in countries throughout Europe and also in Israel and Japan, receiving high acclaim. Ebi has performed in many of the world’s major concert halls, among them the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Salle Pleyel, Gewandhaus, Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, and Suntory Hall.
In recent years she has been actively engaged in the instruction of young musicians, and is a sought-after teacher of master classes in countries around the world.
Ebi was chair of the jury of the 8th and 9th Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions. She has served on the juries of many other major international competitions, including the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition and the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition in both the preliminary and final selections. She returned as a jury member of the 18th Chopin Competition in 2021.
Akiko Ebi is chairperson of the Planning Committee of the Yokohama International Piano Concert. She is a former Professor in the Graduate School of Nihon University College of Art, and a former Visiting Professor in the Department of Instrumental Music (Piano), Tokyo University of the Arts. She is also Chairman of the Frederic Chopin Society of Japan.