{{Short description|Japanese violinist (born 1986)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | background = person | name = Mayu Kishima | honorific_suffix = | image = Mayu Kishima SISIVC 1st prize.jpg | image_upright = | image_size = | alt = | caption = Kishima after winning first place at the inaugural Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition, 2016 | native_name = 木嶋真優 | native_name_lang = ja | birth_name = <!-- leave empty if the same "name" --> | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1986|12|13}} | birth_place = Kobe, Japan | origin = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date first) --> | death_place = | death_cause = <!-- should be included only when the cause of death has significance for the subject's notability--> | genre = Classical | occupation = Violinist | instrument = Violin | works = | years_active = <!-- YYYY–YYYY (or –present) --> | label = | publishers = | current_member_of = | past_member_of = | spouse = <!-- Use article title or common name --> | awards = | website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20051124142201/http://www.mayumusic.com/en/homeen.html 2005 archive of official website] }}
'''Mayu Kishima''' ({{langx|ja|link=no|木嶋真優|Kishima Mayū}}) (born December 13, 1986) is a Japanese violinist. She is affiliated with Miyazawa Company and Watanabe Entertainment. She has won many major awards, beginning when she was a young child, and she began winning international awards in her teens.
==Early life == Kishima was born in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, on December 13, 1986.<ref name="mbs">{{cite web|url=https://www.mbs.jp/jounetsu-old/2012/08_26.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024120125/https://www.mbs.jp/jounetsu-old/2012/08_26.shtml|archive-date=October 24, 2020|date=August 26, 2012|access-date=November 21, 2025|title=ヨーロッパで活躍する25歳の女性ヴァイオリニスト。畑は違えどサッカー大津ら"欧州組"で励ましあう姿も・・。|trans-title=A 25-year-old female violinist active in Europe. Although they are in different fields, they encourage each other with the "European team" including soccer player Otsu|language=ja|publisher=Mainichi Broadcasting System}}</ref> She began studying the violin at the age of three and a half under the guidance of Izumi Hayashi. Kishima knew when she was very little she would become a violinist.<ref name="niles"/> Even before entering school, she won the gold medal at a children's competition in Kyoto for three consecutive years: 1990, 1991, 1992.<ref name="kennedy"/> At the age of seven, she participated in Midori Goto's lecture concert, and at the age of nine, in 1996, she participated in Isaac Stern's lecture concert at the Miyazaki International Chamber Music Festival. Stern's rule was each participant could only attend one year, but he made an exception for Kishima and let her attend three years in a row.<ref name="niles"/><ref name="kennedy"/> This meeting would play a pivotal role in her future.<ref name="niles">{{cite web|last=Niles|first=Laurie|url=https://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20169/19724/|title=Interview with Mayu Kishima, Winner of the 2016 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition|publisher=The Violinist|date=September 8, 2016|access-date=November 21, 2025|archive-date=October 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002181019/https://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20169/19724/|url-status=live}}</ref>
At the age of nine, she made her orchestral debut performing the first movement of Mendelssohn58's Violin Concerto with the Cojima Musica Collegia conducted by Hideo Kojima. In 1998, she won first place in the elementary school division of the 52nd All-Japan Student Music Competition in Osaka.<ref name="kennedy">{{cite web|url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/k/ka-kn/mayu-kishima/|title=Mayu Kishima|publisher=The Kennedy Center|date=|access-date=November 21, 2025|archive-date=December 19, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251219065245/https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/k/ka-kn/mayu-kishima/|url-status=live}}</ref> She studied under Toshiya Eto, {{ill|Machie Oguri|ja|小栗まち絵}}, Kazuyo Togami, and {{ill|Masao Kawasaki|ja|川崎雅夫}}.<ref name="kennedy"/> As a child, her violin heroes were Anne-Sophie Mutter and Maxim Vengerov.<ref name="niles"/>
She attended Kobayashi Sacred Heart Girls' Elementary School and then went on to the same junior high school. In her second year of junior high school, she transferred to Takarazuka Municipal Junior High School.<ref name="kennedy" />
==Youth career == In 1997, she attended the Aspen Music Festival and School in the United States, where she studied under Dorothy DeLay.<ref name="kennedy" />
In 1999, she won the top prize (second place, no first place winner) at the Japan Classical Music Competition National Finals, and she performed at the 25th regular concert of the Izmir Symphony Orchestra in İzmir, Turkey. The following year, she performed at Carnegie Hall and other venues.<ref name="kennedy" />
In 2001, she won the top prize (second place, no first place winner) in the junior division of the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition.<ref name="njp">{{cite web|url=https://www.njp.or.jp/en/about/guest/2736/|publisher=New Japan Philharmonic|title=Violin: Mayu Kijima |date=|access-date=November 21, 2025}}</ref>
Between 1999 and 2002, she attended seminars in Yokohama with Zakhar Bron. In 2002, she received an international scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Culture. Since then, she has lived in Germany, studying violin under Professor Zakhar Bron at the Cologne University of Music.<ref name="kennedy" />
== Adult career == Bron was so impressed with Kishima that he introduced her to Mstislav Rostropovich, who said of her "the world's best young violinist".<ref name="petri">{{cite web |date= |title=Mayu Kishima |url=https://hksl.org/non-hksl-musicians/mayu-kishima/ |access-date=November 21, 2025 |publisher=Hong Kong Sinfonietta |archive-date=October 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251007093148/https://hksl.org/non-hksl-musicians/mayu-kishima/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, she toured the US and Europe with Rostropovich throughout 2005. The concerts were well-received in European and American newspapers. The German newspaper ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' commented, "Just as Karajan brought Anne-Sophie Mutter and Maazel brought Hilary Hahn to global attention, Rostropovich brought Kijima Mayu to the world."<ref name="petri"/> She has frequently performed with renowned violist Yuri Bashmet, and has been recognized by violin virtuoso Ivry Gitlis, performing at the Martha Argerich Music Festival in Lugano, Switzerland, and with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, among others.<ref name="niles"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://zsolt-bognar.com/blog/2013/6/28/part-1-martha-argerich-project|publisher=Zsolt Bognár|title=Part 1: Martha Argerich Project|date=June 28, 2013|access-date=November 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.concoursgeneve.ch/laureate/mayu_kishima|publisher=Concours de Genève International Music Competition|title=Mayu Kishima|date=|access-date=November 21, 2025}}</ref> Conductor Seiji Ozawa has also attracted attention by inviting Kishima to join the Saito Kinen Orchestra and the Mito Chamber Orchestra, both of which he leads.<ref name="petri"/>
In the spring of 2012, she graduated from the Cologne University of Music with honors, and in the autumn of 2015, she graduated from that same school's Performing Arts Graduate School with highest honors and earned a German national performer qualification.<ref name="watanabe">{{cite web |date= |title=木嶋真優 |trans-title=Kijima Mayu Kishimayu |url=https://www.watanabepro.co.jp/mypage/61000020/ |access-date=November 21, 2025 |publisher=Watanabe Entertainment |language=ja}}</ref><ref name="njp"/><ref name="viochan">{{cite web|url=https://theviolinchannel.com/mayu-kishima-1st-shanghai-violin-comp/|title=Japan's Mayu Kishima Awarded 1st Prize at $100k Shanghai Competition|publisher=The Violin Channel|date=September 2, 2016|access-date=November 21, 2025}}</ref>
She has played with two Antonio Stradivari violins: the 1699 "Walner", specially loaned from the Munetsugu Collection by the NPO Yellow Angel,<ref name="njp"/> as well as the "ex-Petri" 1700 violin, loaned by Dr. Ryuji Ueno.<ref name="petri"/>
In 2006, she performed in Europe with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kenichiro Kobayashi, and she also accompanied the Prague Symphony Orchestra on their tour of Japan.<ref name="kennedy"/> In June 2003, she was selected by Vladimir Ashkenazy to perform as the soloist for ''Tzigane'' in the recording of Ravel's Orchestral Works with the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ashkenazy.<ref name="petri"/> In 2009 she was a laureate in the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2009 (for violin) in Brussels.<ref name="queen">{{cite web|url=https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/laureates/mayu-kishima/303/|publisher=Queen Elisabeth Competition|title=Final 2009: Mayu Kishima: finalist|year=2009|access-date=November 21, 2025}}</ref> After studying abroad at the University of Cologne, she began to perform frequently throughout Europe, and she also gave concerts as a chamber musician.<ref name="queen"/> In October 2011, she won first prize at the Cologne International Violin Competition and the Dave Garrett award.<ref name="njp"/>
In 2015, Kishima decided to stop entering competitions after participating in the International Tchaikovsky Competition, as she felt she did not do well in them because of mental blocks she developed. A performing tour in Japan after the Tchaikovsky Competition helped boost her confidence, and she decided to do one more competition. In 2016, she won first prize of $100,000 (USD) at the 1st Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition.<ref name="niles"/><ref name="viochan"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.japanarts.co.jp/artist/mayukishima/|publisher=Japan Arts|title=木嶋 真優 Mayu Kishima|language=ja|date=|access-date=November 21, 2025|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515031316/https://www.japanarts.co.jp/artist/mayukishima/}}</ref>
On March 6, 2024, to commemorate the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, IOWN APN held a remote music concert connecting Kanazawa and Tokyo, a distance of approximately 1,000 km, the longest in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ntt.com/about-us/press-releases/news/article/2024/0306.html|publisher=NTT|title=北陸新幹線延伸記念 IOWN APNで世界最長!金沢―東京をつなぐ遠隔音楽ライブ実証実験などを実施|trans-title=To celebrate the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, IOWN APN will be conducting the world's longest remote live music demonstration connecting Kanazawa and Tokyo.|language=ja|date=March 6, 2024|access-date=November 21, 2025|archive-date=December 7, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207033555/https://www.ntt.com/about-us/press-releases/news/article/2024/0306.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Recordings===
Kishima has released two solo albums: ''Chaconne'' in 2008 and ''Rise'' in 2012, which was her second CD.<ref name="petri"/> On August 7, 2024, she released another album ''Dear''. Her collaboration with the younger jazz pianist Takeshi Obayashi marked a new beginning. In an interview, she said, "I extracted the melodies that came from within me, filtered my feelings of love, and created them together with Obayashi."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ontomo-mag.com/article/interview/mayu-kishima-202408/|publisher=|title=木嶋真優〜ジャズピアニスト大林武司との"音の会話"から生まれた、ジャンルを超えた美しい音楽|trans-title=Mayu Kijima – Beautiful music that transcends genres, born from a "sound conversation" with jazz pianist Takeshi Obayashi|language=ja|date=August 23, 2024|access-date=November 21, 2025|archive-date=December 9, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251209020614/https://ontomo-mag.com/article/interview/mayu-kishima-202408/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Personal life==
In 2019, she married a company executive. She announced the marriage on the February 26, 2020, broadcast of the program "Kon'ya Kurabete Mita" (Nippon Television).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2156163/full/|work=Oricon News|title=バイオリニスト・木嶋真優が番組で結婚発表 お相手は40代の有名企業社長「温かい家庭を築いていきたい」|trans-title=Violinist Mayu Kijima announces marriage on TV show, saying she wants to build a warm family with her partner, a famous company president in his 40s|language=ja|date=February 26, 2020|access-date=November 21, 2025|archive-date=November 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126165236/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2156163/full/|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Significant awards == * 2001 – Top Prize (Junior Division) at the 8th Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition<ref name="queen"/>{{efn|Also reported as occurring in 2000}} * 2001 – Kobe Matsukata Hall Music Prize, in Kobe, Japan<ref name="kennedy"/> * 2003 – First Prize Patrus International Violin Competition<ref name="kennedy"/><ref name="queen"/> * 2004 – First Prize Novosibirsk<ref name="queen"/> * 2016 – First Prize Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition<ref name="njp"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Qin|first1=Amy|title=Shanghai Violin Competition Celebrates Isaac Stern's Legacy in China|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/world/asia/china-violin-isaac-stern-shanghai-competition.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 5, 2016 |access-date=November 21, 2025}}</ref>
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{YouTube|id=oKwGr5hqbz0|title=Violin performance and her life story: Mayu Kishima at TEDxKids@Chiyoda (performance and interview in Japanese with English subtitles), December 30, 2012}} * {{YouTube|id=OeL2geK0qbQ&t=1824s|title=Final round (virtuoso piece and concerto) / Mayu Kishima – 1st place, Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition, September 7, 2016|link=no}}
{{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kishima, Mayu}} Category:1986 births Category:21st-century Japanese classical violinists Category:Living people Category:People from Kobe Category:Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni Category:Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition prize-winners