The names Kuni SEO and Shinichiro KATO stand for a young piano duo of the upcoming generation. They met, while they were students at the Toho Gakuen School of Music (Tokyo), studying with Yukio Nomoto and Kazuoki Fujii, and started to perform as a duo in 1998.From 2005, they studied with Hans-Peter and Volker Stenzl Piano Duo at the Rostock Academy of Music and Theatre (Germany), where they graduated with excellence in 2007. And they studied with Yaara Tal and Andreas Groethuysen at the master class programme at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich from 2007 to 2008. From 2008 to 2009 they studied with Alfons Kontarsky, granting a scholarship from the Japanese Government.

In 2001 they received the first prize in the duo division at the 25th PTNA (Piano Teachers National Association, Japan) Piano Competition, in 2002 the first prize in the duo division at the 10th Young Artist Piano Competition in Tokyo and in 2003 the first prize at the International Piano Duo Competition in Tokyo. Furthermore, in 2005 they were awarded the first prize and the Chopin Prize at the 3rd International Piano Duo Competition in Poland and the second prize at the Twenty Fingers Piano Duo International Competition in Italy, and the first prize at the 10th Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition in USA.

In 2006, the duo's performances at the Miami Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival (Germany) and for the Bavarian Radio and Northern German Radio won high acclaim. Since 2007 Seo and Kato perform regularly in the United States, Germany and Japan. In summer 2008 they gave a concert at the Musical Instruments Museum in Berlin, sponsored by the Gotthard Schierse-Foundation. In 2009 the duo performed the Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra by Peter Eotvos with Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at the Suntory Music Foundation's Summer Festival 2009 [MUSIC TODAY 21] in Tokyo.

Shinichiro Kato teaches at the Toho Gakuen School of Music (Composition, Music Theory, Piano for composers, Ensemble and Piano Duo), Kunitachi College of Music (Piano and Piano Duo) and Tokyo University of the Arts (Music Theory).

Contact

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