CCMusic.com

This new release is the first recital by a violin prodigy coming from Taiwan. Via Ravel's and Lekeu's famous Sonatas, we are introduced to the music of a Japanese living composer: Tokuoka Naoki. Born in Taiwan, she learned how to play the piano from an early age and started playing violin in a special music class in Taiwan. She studied abroad at The Yehudi Menuhin School since she was 13, and learned from the world-renowned Lord Menuhin, Kremer, Perlman, Mintz, Zukerman, Rostropovich, the Amadeus String Quartet. She received piano lessons from Perlemuter, Nikolayeva, and Mitsuko Uchida, and harpsichord lessons from Pinnock and others. She often co-starred Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins" by Lord Menuhin's own recommendation. She was mentored by Devy Erlih, Huguette Déat, and G. Commontal at the Royal Academy of London, Conservatoire de Paris, and the Rueil-Malmaison Conservatory. She won first place at the 1998 Pierre-Lantier international competition. In the practical exam at the Rueil-Malmaison Conservatory, she was chosen unanimously for three years in a row to receive the overall first place of the Premier Prix and won the Tony Aubin Prize in the final year.