Masataka Takada

Born in Kanagawa, Japan, Masataka Takada began playing the piano at the age of five. He has been a prizewinner at numerous international competitions including 3rd prize at the 2nd International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Wroclaw in Poland in 2002; 2nd prize winner at the 2nd Sendai International Piano Competition in Japan in 2004; 3rd prize at the Jaen International Piano Competition in Spain in 2005; 1st prize at the 2005 A.M.A. Calabria International Piano Competition in Italy; 2nd prize at the Maria Callas Grand Prix for pianist in Athens in 2006; 2nd prize at 5th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar, Germany in 2006; 2nd prize and 3rd prize at 17th International Piano Competition „Citta Di Cantu” in Italy in 2007; and 2nd prize of the Montreal International Music Competition 2008 in Canada.

He has been awarded with the prize of 53rd Kanagawa cultural prize (2004) and the Kyoto Aoyama Music Award (2008) in Japan.

Takada has performed throughout Japan, Italy, Hungary, Portugal and Germany. He is also invited to the music festivals and gives recitals at Coimbra International Music Festival in Portugal, Bayreuther Klavierfestival in Bayerowth, Germany, Noto International Music Festival in Italy. In addition to solo recitals, he has also worked with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Opera House Orche-stra, the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra (Japan), Staatskapelle Weimar, Meininger Hofkapelle, Sudwestdeutsche Philharmonie (Germany) and the Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Hungary).

A graduate of the Toho College of Music in Japan in 2000, Takada furthered his studies at the Mannes College of Music in New York and the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary and is currently under the tutelage of Sergio Perticaroli at the Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia in Roma, Italy.

He has studied with Yoshiki Moriyasu, Sumiko Mikimoto, Nobuyoshi Kato, Jerome Rose, Alexander Jenner, György Nádor.