Takako Nishizaki
Violinist Takako Nishizaki is perhaps the most frequently recorded concert violinist of the digital era. She was also the first violinist to learn by way of the Suzuki method; her father, Shinji Nishizaki, worked with Shinichi Suzuki in developing the method, and Takako Nishizaki took instruction from both teachers. She made her debut at the age of 9, and further studied with Broadus Erle, starting in Japan and later at Yale University. Nishizaki finished her violin studies at Juilliard under Joseph Fuchs and in 1967 won second prize in the Leventritt International competition behind Pinchas Zukerman.
One would surmise that with her talent and beauty that American record companies would be getting in each other's way to obtain Nishizaki's recording contract. But they weren't, and by 1974 Nishizaki settled in Hong Kong, where she established a career as the pre-eminent violin virtuoso on the Chinese concert circuit. This was no small feat, as in China they take the violin seriously and its literature is central to the entire establishment of Chinese classical music. Along the way Nishizaki met and married German businessman Klaus Heymann, founder of HNH International, the corporate parent to the popular classical label Naxos. Heymann sponsored Nishizaki in an extensive series of recordings of Chinese classical music on his Marco Polo label. Some of these recordings sold into the millions of copies in China, providing the nest egg that launched the Naxos label in the late 1980s.
With Naxos, Nishizaki has recorded much of the standard Western violin literature, as well, but has made a special mission of recording key violin literature that is known in concert and in the classroom, but seldom represented on records. The most celebrated example of this tendency is her recordings of the concertos of Chevalier de St-Georges, but it also includes her interpretations of Charles August de Bériot, Louis Spohr, and Joseph Joachim. All of Nishizaki's recordings are notable for her generous, singing tone; flexible rhythmic sensibility; her sense of architectural symmetry in regard to whole movements; her ability to excite; and the sheer beauty of Nishizaki's sound.
© TiVo
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MOZART: Haffner Serenade, K. 250 / March, K. 249
Capella Istropolitana, Takako Nishizaki, Johannes Wildner
Classical - Released by Naxos on 23 Nov 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cinema Violino - Takako Nishizaki
Asia - Released by Marco-Polo on 8 Aug 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantic Violin Favourites
Classical - Released by Naxos on 30 Jun 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
O Sole Mio: Classic Love Songs for Violin and Orchestra
Takako Nishizaki, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Peter Breiner
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Four Seasons (The) / Wind Concertos
Classical - Released by Naxos on 15 Mar 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Takako Nishizaki plays Suzuki <sup><small>®</small></sup> Evergreens (Volume 5)
Classical - Released by Naxos on 25 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The) / YIN: The Yellow River Piano Concerto
Takako Nishizaki, Chengzong Yin, Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Cheng-wu Fan, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 31 Dec 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Song of Yang Guan: Ancient & Modern Chinese Classics
Takako Nishizaki, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 3 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Takako Nishizaki plays Suzuki <sup><small>®</small></sup> Evergreens (Volume 3)
Classical - Released by Naxos on 25 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chen Gang: Violin Concerto "Wang Zhaojun"
Takako Nishizaki, Fung Lam, Capella Istropolitana, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Stephen Gunzenhauser, Wing-Sie Yip
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chinese Melodies for Violin & Guitar
Takako Nishizaki, Gérald Garcia
Chamber Music - Released by Marco-Polo on 26 Sep 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 3 / BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D Major
Takako Nishizaki, Capella Istropolitana, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Stephen Gunzenhauser, Kenneth Jean
Classical - Released by Naxos on 10 Jul 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Du Mingxin: Violin Concerto, The Goddess of River Luo & Autumn Thoughts
Takako Nishizaki, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Kenneth Jean
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 1 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Concerto - Romances Nos. 1 & 2
Takako Nishizaki, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Kenneth Jean
Concertos - Released by Naxos on 15 Jun 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Takako Nishizaki
Asia - Released by Marco-Polo on 16 May 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
PERFECT SPRING WEDDING
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 4 / Sinfonia Concertante
Takako Nishizaki, Capella Istropolitana, Ladislav Kyselak, Stephen Gunzenhauser
Violin Concertos - Released by Naxos on 1 Apr 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart
Classical - Released by Naxos on 20 Nov 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Vol. 1
Capella Istropolitana, Takako Nishizaki, Bohdan Warchal, Oliver von Dohnanyi
Classical - Released by Naxos Special Projects on 26 Aug 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo