Born in Kyoto (Japan) in 1995, Sayoko Kobayashi is a Japanese pianist whose musical journey bridges Japan and France. She graduated from the Kyoto City University of Arts, where she studied under Midori Nohara, and earned her diploma with unanimous distinction from the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot in the class of Bruno Rigutto. In 2022, she received the Concertist Diploma with the highest honors from the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris, under the guidance of David Saudubray. In 2024, she completed a Master’s degree at the Kyoto City University of Arts, and also holds a teaching qualification for secondary music education. Actively performing, she has been invited to many festivals, including the 53rd Nohant Festival Chopin, the 36th Chopin Festival in Paris, the Lisztomanias in Châteauroux, and the Croissy-sur-Seine masterclasses. She has given recitals at the Château de Lourmarin and at a private concert in Paris organized by the Association Chopin à Paris. Her performances have also taken place in prestigious venues such as the Louvre Museum, the Jean-Jacques Henner National Museum, the Hungarian Embassy in Paris, the Polish Library in Paris, and at Kawai France. Sayoko has been awarded several international prizes: in 2018, she received 2nd Prize and the Prize for Best Interpretation of a Romantic Work at the Claude Bonneton International Competition in Sète; in 2019, she was a laureate of the Via Luce – Rotary Club Paris Académies competition; and in 2020, she won 2nd Prize at the Albert Roussel International Piano Competition in Paris. In 2022, she was selected as a soloist to perform Brahms’ First Piano Concerto with the orchestra of the CRR de Paris and the Paris Conservatory, under the baton of Pierre-Michel Durand. She performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in both France and Japan. Her work has been supported by various institutions, including the Lions Club of Kyoto (2013), the Meiji Yasuda Cultural Foundation (2016–2017), and the Banque Populaire Foundation (2019–2022).

Spoken languages: japanese, french, english

Photo credit: ARR