Mieko Miyazaki

Born in Tokyo, Mieko Miyazaki began learning the koto at nine and shamisen at sixteen. She was admitted to the Tokyo National University of Fine Art and Music and was invited to perform as a soloist in the presence of the Japanese Imperial couple. In 1994, sie passed the NHK national television Japanese Music audition on shamisen, receiving high from the judges. Her composition The Current is recognized by specialists of the Hogaku Journal as one of the 30 greatest koto works of all time. In 2005, she moved to France, then she regularly performs as a soloist and collaborates with numerous artists and ensembles, including jazz masters Nguyên Lê (Saiyuki – ACT), Michel Benita (River Silver – ECM) etc.To share her instrument and Japanese music with wider audiences, she has appeared on The Voice (TF1), La Boîte à musique by JeanFrançois Zygel (France 2), and numerous programs on France Musique. After 17 years of research and reflection, she completed in 2020 the world premiere transcription of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for solo koto, Variations Goldberg – The Art of Koto (Continuo Classic). In 2024, she appeared as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Orchestre de chambre de Lyon and the Orchestre du Conservatoire de Gennevilliers, performing her own concerto for Japanese instruments and orchestra, which was highly acclaimed. That same year, she was invited to perform Genji, a koto concerto by American composer Daron Hagen, together with a chamber ensemble from the Orchestre de la Suisse Romando. https://www.miekomiyazaki.com/