Akiko Ebi, piano

Debussy | Pour le piano Ravel | Gaspard de la Nuit
Chopin| Etude, Op. 25, No. 1; Nocturnes Op. 27, No. 2 & Op. 48, No. 1;
Impromptu in G flat major, Op. 51; Ballade in A flat major, Op. 47;
Scherzo in B flat minor, Op. 31

Japanese pianist Akiko Ebi launched her international career as winner of the 1975 Grand Prix of the International Marguerite Long Competition in Paris, where she was also awarded four special prizes by Arthur Rubinstein. In 1980, she won the 5th Prize of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, where jury member Martha Argerich took note of her artistry and became her mentor. After winning First Prize at the National Music Competition of Japan, Ms. Ebi continued her training at the Paris Conservatoire with Aldo Ciccolini, and pursued additional studies with Vlado Perlemuter and Louis Kentner.

Ms. Ebi has performed throughout Europe, North and South America, China, the Middle East, and tours annually in her native Japan. Recently, she performed with such orchestras as Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Monte Carlo Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, and multiple orchestras in Russia, Poland, Slovakia and Argentina, with such conductors as Skrowaczewski, Janowski, Guschulbauer, Foster, and Sado.
In addition to her recent 2-piano recitals with Martha Argerich, Ms. Ebi's chamber music performances include collaborations with such distinguished artists as Ivry Gitlis, Augustin Dumay, Regis Pasquier, Angela Hewitt, Michel Dalberto, the Morauges Quintet, and the Parisii, Manfred & Nova Quartets. Ms. Ebi appears annually at many prestigious international music festivals, including La Roque d’Antheron, Menton, Echternach, Journee de Nantes, Lugano, Lisbon, Toledo, Tokyo, and Salt Lake City.

A prolific recording artist, Ms. Ebi has recorded Chopin’s complete Etudes, Preludes, Nocturnes and Impromptus, as well as works of Brahms, Liszt, Franck, Webern and Pierne. She was awarded the French Grand Prix d’Or for her recording of the works of Dynam-Victor Fumet, and her 2nd Grand Prix d’Or Japonais for her disc of the compositions of Hikari Oe. This important disc brought international attention to this gifted composer, who was born developmentally disabled and unable to speak, but found his unique voice through his music.

Regarded as one of the most important interpreters of French music among all Japanese pianists, Ms. Ebi was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 1993, and in 2002 she received Japan’s prestigious Exxon-Mobile Music Prize.