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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The Very Best of Vivaldi
Classical - Released by Naxos on Oct 3, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 5 and 9
Chamber Music - Released by Naxos on Mar 15, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Sonatas, Vol. 2
Chamber Music - Released by Naxos on Sep 25, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Concerto "Hung Hu" & Other Popular Chinese Orchestral Music
Takako Nishizaki, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hoey Choo
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on Jul 3, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Three Wishes of the Rose - Everlasting Chinese Love Songs
Takako Nishizaki, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Peter Breiner
Asia - Released by Marco-Polo on Feb 13, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Meets Pipa: Popular Chinese Folk Melodies
Asia - Released by Marco-Polo on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thanksgiving - A Classic Thanksgiving: We Gather Together
Concertos - Released by Naxos on Oct 19, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lark Ascending (The): Violin Showpieces
Classical - Released by Naxos on Mar 17, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Takako Nishizaki plays Suzuki <sup><small>®</small></sup> Evergreens (Volume 1)
Classical - Released by Naxos on May 25, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hong Kong TV & Movie Classics
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Takako Nishizaki, Varujan Kojian, Henry Shek, Kenneth Jean
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on Mar 4, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Russian Romance
Takako Nishizaki, Queensland Orchestra, Peter Breiner
Classical - Released by Naxos on Dec 31, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The) / CHU: The Yellow River Piano Concerto
Takako Nishizaki, Chengzong Yin, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Jean, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on May 22, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART: Haffner Serenade, K. 250 / March, K. 249
Capella Istropolitana, Takako Nishizaki, Johannes Wildner
Classical - Released by Naxos on Nov 23, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Seasons (The) (arr. for violin and orchestra)
Classical - Released by Naxos on Mar 14, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Sonatas, Vol. 1
Chamber Music - Released by Naxos on Sep 27, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Sonatas, Vol. 3
Chamber Music - Released by Naxos on Nov 4, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Best of Bach (The)
Concertos - Released by Naxos on Mar 24, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The)
Takako Nishizaki, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Jean
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on May 22, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Takako Nishizaki plays Suzuki <sup><small>®</small></sup> Evergreens (Volume 2)
Classical - Released by Naxos on May 25, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chen, He, Yan, Zhu & Zhang: Romantic Violin Concertos
Takako Nishizaki, Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Cheng-wu Fan
Classical - Released by Naxos on May 12, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Story of Naxos (The Soundtrack)
Classical - Released by Naxos Special Projects on May 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo