SHIZUKA SHIMOYAMA, Pianist, My Profile

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She has a wide repertoire as a pianist ranging from Baroque to modern, Eastern Europe to Spain and Latin America. She is known for her unique activities that intertwine the world of music with literature and art, and for conveying the essence of art with a sensibility. In recent years, she has been highly praised in the literary genre and has been receiving requests to write, and is engaged in a wide range of activities.

Graduated from Toho Gakuen School of Music (university) and completed the chamber music diploma course at the same school. She participated in music festivals and concerts in various parts of Europe, including Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, Austria, and Spain.

In 1999, she went to Madrid as an overseas artist trainee dispatched by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. There she studied under R.M. Kucharski and M. Zabaleta and then deepened her study of Spanish music at the Academia Marcial in Barcelona, ​​where she was mentored by Carmen Bravo (Mrs. Mompou), Alicia de Larrocha, and others. She gave recitals all over Spain and was praised as a "pianist with a Spanish heart."

She has performed piano in many NHK special documentaries, dramas, art exhibitions, etc. She has appeared on TV and radio program as a specialist of Spanish and Ibero-American music.

In addition to performances as a soloist, chamber music is also her important activities, and she is well-known for realizing high-quality ensembles with various instruments. She has performed with many artists visiting Japan, including the Vienna Virtuoso, Czech Philharmonic Sextet, S.Hussong, M. Hossen, R. Simeo, and V.Seung etc.. She has toured Italy, Cuba, Norway, Romania, etc. 

She continues to run other unique series such as “Spanish and Ibero-American chamber music”, "Enchanted by Latin America", "Music × Art", "Music × Literature" and so on.

She has released 15 piano solo CDs, "Chopiniana," "Saudade em piano," "Goyescas," "Live in Albarracin," and "Piazzolla x Piano" were selected as special recommended albums by the authoritative music magazine "Record Geijutsu," and other CDS, including these, have received recommendations from newspaoers, specialist magazines, Tower Records and so on. 

She formed the "Duo Animis" with violinist Kie Terashima, and their activities mainly focus on performing Nordic music. They has released two CDs to date. In 2024, they received a grant from the Scandinavia-Nippon Sasakawa Foundation and went on a concert tour to Norway.

Currently, while actively performing as a pianist both in Japan and abroad, she is also active in many areas, including writing, translating (Spanish and English), giving lectures, and reading. In addition to two books and two translations, she has also edited and written encyclopedias, co-authored specialist books, and contributed to book reviews, essays, columns, programs, and articles for music magazines. Since 2024, she has been in charge of the serial "Music × Literature" in the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper.

She has been invited to Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, Keio University, Sophia University, the University of Tokyo, and Tokyo University of the Arts to give special lectures and concerts. 

Part-time lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts from 2003 to 2011, Toho Gakuen School of Music from 2008, and the University of Tokyo from 2014. 

President of the Society of Spanish Piano Music in Japan. Ambassador of her hometown Kiryu.