The Japanese pianist Yu Nitahara has won numerous prizes as a soloist and chamber musician and established an international career, performing with celebrated orchestras at venues throughout Europe. He is currently a senior lecturer at the Mozarteum University.
Yu Nitahara graduated with highest honours from Tokyo National University of the Arts and went on to study piano performance and chamber music at the Mozarteum University Salzburg with Pavel Gililov, where he also graduated with distinction.
He was awarded both first prize and the audience and orchestra prizes at the Morocco Philharmonic Orchestra International Music Competition. Further success has come at the Santander International Piano Competition, the International Mozart Competition, the J.N. Hummel International Piano Competition and the PIANALE International Piano Competition. As a chamber musician, he won first prize at the International Swedish Duo Competition and the prize for the best accompanist for violin and cello at the International Enescu Competition.
Yu Nitahara has given numerous concerts in his home country Japan as well as in other Asian and European countries. He has performed at major European festivals such as the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and the Schleswig Holstein Festival and has played in major halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Großer Saal of the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras including the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Morocco, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival.