is a Japanese cellist and conductor.

Career

Suzuki took his music degrees at the

Toho Gakuen School of Music is a private university, private music school in Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. History Toho Gakuen was founded in 1948 in Ichigaya (Tokyo) as the Music School for Children, and two years later moved to Sengawa (current address at Wakabacyo, Chōfu-shi, ...

in Tokyo, with a focus on cello and conducting. After a successful career as a modern cellist, he went to the Netherlands in 1984 to study Baroque cello with the Dutch period-instrument pioneer

Anner Bylsma Anner Bylsma (born Anne Bijlsma; 17 February 1934 – 25 July 2019) was a Dutch cellist who played on both modern and period instruments in a historically informed style. He took an interest in music from an early age. He studied with Carel van ...

. Suzuki won first prize at the First International Baroque Cello Competition in Paris in 1986. He was a member of the

Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century () is a Dutch early music orchestra. Frans Brüggen and Lucy van Dael co-founded the orchestra in 1981. Sieuwert Verster became financial manager in 1984. Although he did not have a formal title with the orc ...

under

Frans Brüggen Franciscus ("Frans") Jozef Brüggen (30 October 1934 – 13 August 2014) was a Dutch Conducting, conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist. Biography Born in Amsterdam, Brüggen was the youngest of the nine children of August Brüggen, a t ...

from 1985 to 1993, then principal cellist of

La Petite Bande La Petite Bande is a Belgium-based ensemble specialising in music of the Baroque and Classical eras played on period instruments. They are particularly known for their recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel, Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. Hi ...

with

Sigiswald Kuijken Sigiswald Kuijken (; born 16 February 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on period and original instruments. Biography Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble o ...

between 1992 and 2001. He was professor of Baroque Cello at the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (, ) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned par ...

from 1994 to 2000. His students have included Antje Geusen, Christoph Theinert Tormod Dalen, and Mime Yamahiro. In 2001, Suzuki returned to Japan, where he serves on the faculty of

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music or is a school of art and music in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter ...

. In 2001, he founded and became conductor of Orchestra Libera Classica, a period-instrument group focused on Haydn, and the classical era and has released live recordings from the "Arte dell'arco" label. He was a member of the

Bach Collegium Japan Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ) is composed of an orchestra and a chorus specializing in Baroque music, playing on period instruments. It was founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki with the purpose of introducing Japanese audiences to European Baroque musi ...

, the Boccherini Quartet, Tokyo Bach Mozart Orchestra, Classical Players Tokyo (CPT), and the quartet, Mito dell'Arco He worked with the Mexican bowmaker Luis Emilio Rodriguez on the reconstruction of historically accurate bow construction methods. Suzuki was the first Japanese cellist to record the six

Cello Suites The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the p ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

on a period instrument, in 1995; it was awarded an Artistic Creation Prize by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs that year. He won a

Diapason d'Or The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...

in France for his recording of early works of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

; his recording of the cello concertos of

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's concerti with La Petite Bande won the Record Academy award in Japan. He has also recorded the cello sonatas by

Francesco Geminiani Francesco Xaverio Geminiani (baptised 5 December 1687 – 17 September 1762) was an Italian violinist, composer, and music theorist. BBC Radio 3 once described him as "now largely forgotten, but in his time considered almost a musical god, deem ...

, the cello concertos of

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque and Classical period. He was the fifth ch ...

with the

, and chamber music of

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

Personal life

Hidemi Suzuki is the brother of the harpsichordist, organist, and conductor

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for whi ...

References

External links

Officiële website

Cellist.nl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Hidemi 1957 births Japanese classical cellists Japanese classical musicians Japanese performers of early music Living people Musicians from Kobe