Yasuo Shinozaki

Representation: General Management

Artistic Director: Kymi Sinfonietta

In a remarkably short time, Yasuo Shinozaki has acquired a truly international reputation for his emotionally direct style of music making and his musical knowledge. Often conducting from memory, he really delves into the music – ‘Shinozaki, who conducted without a score, handled Prokofiev with great gestures and with love, and he dug out a great sound from the orchestra’ (Turun Sanomat). Born in Japan, he studied in Vienna, Siena and the United States under Leopold Hager, Myung-Whun Chung, Seiji Ozawa and Bernard Haitink. Yasuo Shinozaki first came to prominence on the international scene in Finland, winning the Second International Sibelius Conducting Competition in 2000. He then spent three successful years as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he conducted an unprecedented number of concerts and engaged in the education and community events and the LA Philharmonic New Music Group. In 2004 Yasuo Shinozaki returned to Europe to make his home in London.

Having been immediately re-invited to conduct the Helsinki Philharmonic after the Sibelius Competition, Yasuo Shinozaki established a strong career in Finland. He regularly conducts the Helsinki Philharmonic, where he has been lauded for his ‘natural, rhythmically incisive and energetic style of conducting’ (Helsingin Sanomat) as well as the Turku Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic and Tapiola Sinfonietta. Elsewhere in Europe, Yasuo Shinozaki’s recent engagements include performances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic. Other orchestras which have engaged him in recent years include the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio, Württembergischer Philharmonic, Swedish Radio, Vasteras Sinfonietta, Norrlands Symphony, Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra and BIT20 Ensemble. Yasuo Shinozaki has also established a great reputation in South Africa, conducting the Cape Philharmonic, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2011/12 Yasuo Shinozaki is working with orchestras including Orchestra of Opera North, Yomiuri Symphony and Cape Philharmonic during the Cape Town International Music Festival.

Alongside his accomplishments in Europe, Yasuo Shinozaki has also scored notable success in his homeland to which he returns regularly. Yasuo Shinozaki’s engagements in Japan include concerts with the Tokyo Philharmonic, Nagoya Philharmonic, Osaka Philharmoniker and the New Japan Philharmonic.  Yasuo Shinozaki has also developed his opera conducting at Japanese opera houses with works such as Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and, with the Philippine Opera Company, Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.

In January 2007, Yasuo Shinozaki was appointed Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Kymi Sinfonietta based in Kotka and Kouvola in Finland, and he continues his position with them throughout this season. As well as being renowned for his artistic prowess and his ‘ability to dive fearlessly into the flames’ (Kymen Sanomat) and take the orchestra with him, Yasuo Shinozaki has developed the orchestra and been instrumental in building its profile through leading them on successful tours, including trips to China, Latvia and the United Kingdom. In Finland, Yasuo has taken the orchestra to Finnish festivals in Helsinki and Viitasaari. Yasuo has become a strong part of the community and is keenly involved in the competitions, such as the Uuno Klami Composition Competition, and public celebration concerts that the orchestra presents each year.

A strong proponent of a wide range of repertoire, Yasuo Shinozaki is a keen supporter of contemporary works. His programmes often fuse cultures, from east and west, encompassing works from Mozart, Mahler and Stravinsky to Takemitsu and John Adams. He has given numerous premières throughout his career, including works by Karen Tanaka and Osvaldo Golijov in Finland. His conducting style is well suited to contemporary music; ‘…a vigorous conductor with a strong beat and a precise direction of the players… Yasuo Shinozaki really came into his own with the twentieth century music…’ (artSMart).

Yasuo Shinozaki has also made a number of recordings, including Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder with the BBC Scottish Symphony and Christianne Stotijn, which was featured on the cover of BBC Music Magazine, and works by Rózsa and Korngold with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and Matthew Trusler, which received five stars in BBC Music Magazine. His first recording with Kymi Sinfonietta of works by Stravinsky is scheduled for December 2011.

Yasuo Shinozaki lives in London with his wife, and two children.

‘There seemed to be a special chemistry between Shinozaki and the orchestra… His account of the Mahler symphony, conducted from memory, was masterly.’
Los Angeles Times

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Email: Katy Cropper