Nobuko Imai
Nobuko Imai has been a leading viola player since the early 1990s. She studied at Tokyo's Toho Gakuen Music School before continuing her training in the United States at both Yale University and the Juilliard School. Following her graduation from Juilliard, she triumphantly vanquished all competitors to win the highest prizes at the Munich and Geneva international competitions. She is a former member of the prestigious Vermeer Quartet, known for sharp performances of the Mozart and Beethoven chamber repertoire. Since leaving this ensemble, she divides her time between performing as a soloist with the world's major orchestras, such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and teaching in Europe and Japan. She returns regularly to her native land where she serves as artistic adviser of Casals Hall in Tokyo. She also continues to be active in chamber music, performing alongside such greats as Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Itzhak Perlman, András Schiff, and the late Isaac Stern.
The violist's superb discography includes more than 40 releases on labels such as BIS, Chandos, EMI, Hyperion, and Philips. In 1996 she was awarded the leading Japanese prize for music, the Suntory Hall Prize. She is known for an innovative approach to her instrument, and her unique accomplishments include creating viola adaptations of works for cello from the classical repertoire. Even in her early days as a student she was known for sparks of technical brilliance; when her class was going through an intense study of Bach, attempting to come as close as possible to the composer's original intentions, it was Imai that came up with the idea of the string players use Baroque bows instead of modern bows with their modern instruments. She also brings this focus into her involvement with contemporary music, naturally. Always an enthusiast for new works, her discography includes a collaboration with the Japanese avant-garde composer Toru Takemitsu, who created a work specifically for the violist focusing on the unique characteristics of the instrument. Commercial success rarely follows an artist's involvement with contemporary music, but Imai's collection of 20th century pieces for viola and piano released on BIS, including the work by Takemitsu, was a bestseller in Japan. She has also premiered works by George Benjamin, Duncan McTier, and David Horne. Another aspect of her ambitious career are events involving cultural exchange. In 2000 she initiated and assisted in the production of a concert series held at both the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and in Tokyo, which featured Japanese and Dutch early and contemporary music, celebrating the relationship between the two countries which has existed for more than four centuries. Also in 2000 she founded an institution called the East West Baroque Academy, where young music professionals are able to gain experience in authentic early music style and performance practices. In 2008 she founded the Michelangelo Quartet, and the following year established the Tokyo International Viola Competition.
© Eugene Chadbourne /TiVo
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Franck: Piano Quintet in F Minor, FWV 7 (Live from Verbier Festival / 2014)
Marc-André Hamelin, Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Nobuko Imai, Steven Isserlis
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 24 Jul 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Goldberg Variations, transcribed for String Trio
Julian Rachlin, Nobuko Imai, Mischa Maisky
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Complete String Quintets
Nobuko Imai, Auryn Quartet, Matthias Lingenfelder, Jens Oppermann, Stewart Eaton, Andreas Arndt
Chamber Music - Released by TACET Musikproduktion on 11 Sep 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Sonatas, Intermezzos, Capriccio
Symphonic Music - Released by Stradivari Classics on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Toru Takemitsu: November Steps; Viola Concerto; Corona
Nobuko Imai, Roger Woodward, Saito Kinen Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 5 Jan 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rubinstein / Glinka / Glazunov / Stravinsky / Shostakovich: Russian Viola Music
Classical - Released by BIS on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Takemitsu: Toward the Sea III / Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp / Britten: Lachrymae / Honegger: Petite Suite / Denisov: Duo
Naoko Yoshino, Aurèle Nicolet, Nobuko Imai
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 2 Sep 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Harold In Italy; Tristia; Les Troyens à Carthage - Prelude
Sir Colin Davis, Nobuko Imai, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 18 Aug 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Viola Concerto, Sonata for String Orchestra & Hindemith Variations
Jan Latham-Koenig, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Nobuko Imai
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello (Transcribed For Viola)
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Viola Bouquet
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 15 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hindemith: Viola Sonatas / Meditation
Chamber Music - Released by BIS on 31 Mar 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Romance for Viola and Piano / Three Suites for Viola / Viola Sonata
Chamber Music - Released by BIS on 1 Aug 2003
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tippett: Concerto For Violin, Viola & Cello
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elegia (Nobuko Imai, alto)
Classical - Released by Pan Classics on 28 Apr 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata - Beethoven: Nocturne for Piano and Viola
Chamber Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dohnányi: Piano Quintets Op. 1 & 26
Chamber Music - Released by Claves Records on 20 Apr 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franck: Violin Sonata in A, Sonata in B-Flat, Elégie & Capriccio in C Minor
Classical - Released by Chandos on 1 Mar 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms & Schumann: Works for Viola and Piano
Duets - Released by Chandos on 1 Aug 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Great Orchestral Works
Nobuko Imai, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour alto (Bela Bartok - Paul Hindemith - Arnold Schönberg)
Classical - Released by Pan Classics on 7 Dec 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo