Kiyotaka IZUMI , piano

Kiyotaka IZUMI was born in Tokyo, Japan. In 1995 he graduated from "The Music High School attached to the Faculty of Music, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music". In 1997 he left his country for Belgium and studied at the "Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Music" in Antwerp, under the supervision of Professor Levente Kende and Heidi Hendrickx. Simultaneously he took improvisation lessons from Rene Arons.

He performed at concerts such as the "International Chopin Festival" in Ghent and the "Royal Gala Concert" for the Prince and Princess of Belgium. He played with orchestras such as the "National Orchestra of Belgium"(Prokofiev), "Hermes Ensemble"(Stravinsky), "Concert festival Orchestre"(Grieg) and the "Orchestra of the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp" (Beethovan). Afterwards he gave concerts and recitals in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany, Italy, Japan. His last "live concert" in Japan, recorded by the Japanese radio, has been broadcast a few times.

Kiyotaka IZUMI became laureate of several international piano competitions: the "Benelux Young Virtuoso Competition 1998", the "International EPTA Competition for Piano Duo 1999" where he also received the "SABAM Prize", the "International Emmanuel Durlet Piano Competition 2002" (Belgium) where he was awarded the special prize for the "Best performance of the work of Emmanuel Durlet", the "International Maria Yudina Competition for Piano Duo" in St.-Petersburg 2005 (Russia), and the special prize for the "Best performance of music by a Balearic Island Composer" at the "International Piano Competition Vila de Capdepera", "Island of Majorca 2005" (Spain), the "International Competition - Un Ricetto in Musica for piano-duo" 2008 (Italy).

In 2002 he received the "Master of Music" degree from the Royal Flemish Conservatoire in Antwerp, with highest honours for piano. Afterwards he studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Brussels under the supervision of Professor Boyan Vodenitcharov. In 2004 he recorded a CD with works of F. Chopin and the Belgian composer Emmanuel Durlet. These pieces are often broadcast by Radio VRT/KLARA. In 2005 he completed his education at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels and received the degree "Specialization Instrument - Chamber Music" and a degree in Piano magna cum laude.

Kiyotaka received several scholarships, a.o. from the "Rotary Club", the "Oranjebeurs" (Holland) and the "Stichting Conservatorium Antwerpen". He took master classes given by Murray Perahia, Conrad Hansen, Jan Wijn, Jozef De Beenhouwer, Hans Leygraf. In 2008 he received his "Postgraduate Concert Soloist" degree with the highest honours at the Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Music in Antwerp. In 2009 he recorded his second CD with "Lyric pieces" of E. Grieg.

Kiyotaka IZUMI is piano professor at the Municipal Academy of Music and Word in Borgerhout and Willebroek. He is also piano accompanist at the Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Music in Antwerp.



"This promising Japanese pianist was instantly popular with the audience. His qualities showed most in his performance of the works by Emmanuel Durlet. In this music he stood out through his graceful touch and his sensitive expressiveness, especially in the delicate Fra Angelico's Garden. Gabriel Faure's music requires great clarity and smooth legato playing. Izumi is capable of meeting both requirements with great accuracy. This recital was crowned with the young musician's performance of Chopin's Sonata Nr. 3, which was played with light touches, with beautifully sonorous passages and in a clear, fluent tempo."