Masaaki Suzuki

Masaaki Suzuki (Japanese Masaaki Suzuki铃木 雅明born April 29, 1954 in Kobe ) is a Japanese conductor, organist and harpsichordist.

Life and work

Masaaki Suzuki began playing the organ at the age of 12 years at the Sunday service. After graduating from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo in composition and organ, he continued his studies in harpsichord and organ at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam with Ton Koopman and Piet Kee continued.

After he had gotten in Amsterdam soloist diplomas for both instruments, he received the second prize at the 1980 Harpsichord Competition ( Basso continuo ) and the third prize at the 1982 Organ Competition of the Festival van Vlaanderen in Brugge.

Since 1990 he has been artistic director of the Bach Collegium Japan, which has made primarily for his recordings of the cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach a name.

He is professor of organ and harpsichord at the National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo and since 2009 professor of choral conducting at Yale University (USA). He was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 2001. In 2011 he was awarded the Bremen Music Festival Prize. In 2012 he was awarded as part of the Bach Festival Leipzig due to its contribution to the maintenance of Bach's work the Bach Medal.