Tomoko Takahashi

Tomoko Takahashi received her first piano lesson at the age of four in her native Japan. In 1982 she continued her musical training at the National University of the Arts Tokyo. Two years later she won a prize in the Nippon National Music Competition. After taking her final examination in Tokyo in 1988, Takahashi began studying under Professor Klaus Hellwig at the Berlin University of the Arts

(HdK) on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), passing her concert examination with distinction in 1995. She has twice won the Arthur Schnabel Competition in Berlin and in 1990 – the year she also completed her master’s thesis at the University of the Arts Tokyo – was awarded second prize in the German Academy Competition. From 1998 to 2000 Takahashi taught various string classes as a coachaccompanist at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK). Her main interest is in chamber music and lieder accompaniment and in this capacity she has won acclaim as the piano partner of numerous well known soloists. She now lives and works in Berlin as a freelance pianist.