The Fujita sisters from Japan have been playing chamber music together since early childhood. They made a highly acclaimed debut at the Wigmore Hall in March 1999 and they were invited to give a Purcell Room recital in June 2000 by the Kirckman Concert Society. Also in June, they made a successful debut at Oji Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Concert engagements have taken the Trio to Canada, France, Italy, Ireland, Romania, Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, and they have won numerous awards and prizes, both as a Trio and individually. Arisa won the Audi Junior Musician Competition when she was only fifteen years old, Honoka won all the cello prizes at the Guildhall School, and Megumi won Fourth Prize at the Montreal International Piano Competition.

Arisa studied with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music, London (where she now teaches), Honoka studied at the Guildhall School with Jennifer Ward Clarke and Raphael Wallfisch, where the Trio also received coaching from the Takacs Quartet. Megumi studied at the Menuhin School with Louis Kentner, Simon Nicholls and Vlado Perlemuter and continued her studies at the Royal College of Music with Irina Zaritskaya. They won the Chamber Music Prize at the Guildhall School in 1994.

The sisters have performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto numerous times with orchestras including the G.Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra (Romania) and the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra in venues including the Barbican Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Atheneum Hall (Bucharest). They have recently toured Loire, France with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire. Their performance of the Triple Concerto with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra at the Radio Hall, Bucharest was broadcast live by national television and radio.

In England, the Trio has performed at Barbican Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, St.Martin-in-the-Fields, Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, and at the Exeter, King's Lynn, and Salisbury Festival. From 1994, the Trio was invited to perform at the Brasov International Chamber Music Festival in Romania for three consecutive years. In 1998, the Japan Foundation organised a concert tour for the Fujita Trio to Casablanca, Rabat (Morocco), Rome, Cairo and Alexandria (Egypt).

The Trio made a debut recording of chamber music by the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu for ASV Records, which was released in 2001 with a worldwide critical acclaim, to coincide with concerts at the Wigmore Hall - as part of the Japan 2001 Festival. The Trio has also recorded the Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich No.1 and No.2, Ravel, Schubert No.1 and No.2 Piano Trios with the Swedish label Intim Musik. Arisa has released a CD of Ysaye 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin Op. 27, and Megumi, Rachmaninov 24 Preludes (released to coincide with her 2005 Wigmore Hall Recital).

2006 saw a return visit to the Wigmore Hall Sunday Coffee concert series and a performance of Beethoven Triple Concerto in Japan with Kyoto Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 2007, awarded the Kyoto Aoyama Barocksaal Prize for their recital in Kyoto, Japan.

Future engagements include concerts in Sweden and throughout the UK.

 

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Megumi was born in New Zealand. She started to study piano at the age of five in Japan. At the age of ten, she moved to Atlanta USA and studied with John Chagy.

She appeared on NBC TV at the following year, and was soloist several times for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at twelve years old. The "Newsweek" magazine made a TV programme introducing her daily life to the USA. In 1978 her family moved to Baghdad, Iraq and Megumi continued her studies with Agnes Bashir, performing with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra.

She joined the Yehudi Menuhin School in 1979 to study with Simon Nicholls and Louis Kentner. At 19, she was selected as a post-graduate student at the Rubin Academy of Music, Tel-Aviv University and studied with Irina Zaritskaya winning First Prize in the Piano Competition at the Academy the same year.
She continued her post-graduate studies at the Royal College of Music with Irina Zaritskaya, winning the Hopkinson Gold Medal in 1986.

Megumi has since won numerous prizes including 3rd Prize at the International Bosendorfer Competition, Belgium, 4th Prize Montreal International Piano Competition, 2nd Prize PTNA Piano Competition, Japan, Semi-finalist International Queen Elizabeth Competition, Belgium, and diplomas at International Chopin Competition, Poland and International Beethoven Competition, Austria. She has also received a Commemorative Medal from the F.Chopin Scholarship Fund Committee, Poland.

Megumi has performed numerous concertos and recitals throughout the world including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, and USA, at prestigious venues including the Barbican Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Atheneum Hall (Romania), Place des Arts (Montreal, Canada), Cemal Resit Rey Hall (Istanbul, Turkey), Kioi Hall (Tokyo, Japan), Oji Hall (Tokyo, Japan). And several radio broadcasts including the BBC Radio 3, Japan NHK FM radio, Canadian Radio, Moroccan national radio, and the Romanian national TV and radio.

The conductors Megumi have collaborated with include Sergiu Comissiona, Robert Shaw, Christian Mandeal, I.Ionescu-Galati, David Josefowitz, and Yukio Kitahara.

Recently, she has performed the Beethoven piano concerto No.4 and No.5, Rachmaninov piano concerto No.2, Tchaikovsky piano concerto No.1, a tour of the Beethoven Triple Concerto in the Loire area, France with the Orchestre National de Pays de la Loire, conducted by Issac Karabchevsky, and has recorded the chamber music works by Takemitsu for ASV Records, which was highly acclaimed by critics worldwide, to coincide with the Fujita Trio's Wigmore Hall recital.

Megumi has recorded the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio, Rachmaninov 24 Preludes for piano, Shostakovich/Ravel Trios and Schubert Piano Trios with the Swedish label Intim Musik.

In 2006 Megumi gave a highly acclaimed recital at the Wigmore Hall performing Schumann works to coincide with the 150th Anniversary of Schumann's death.

Future engagements include concerts in Sweden and throughout the UK, and a Solo Piano Recital at the Wigmore Hall on 19th June 2009.

 

"...(Megumi Fujita) was marvellous mature and confident...faultless technique and tone."
Musical Opinion 1999 Wigmore Hall

Click here to listen to Megumi playing Rachmaninov Prelude
Op.23 No.4 in D major.

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Honoka Fujita was born in Japan. She started to study the cello under Una O'Sullivan and Joan Lavelle in Ireland.
In 1984, she went to Israel to study under Prof.Uzi Wiesel of the Rubin Academy of Music, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.

In 1985, she came to England to continue her studies with Jennifer Ward Clarke. She entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and graduated with B.Mus.(Hons), followed by Concert Recital Diploma (Premier Prix) in 1997, studying with both Jennifer Ward Clarke and Raphael Wallfisch.

Honoka has won many prizes including; Semi-finalist at Maria Canals International Competition (Barcelona, 1996), First Prize Toussaint Memorial Bach Prize (GSMD, 1996), First Prize John and Edith Pleeth Memorial Sonata Prize (GSMD, 1994), First Prize Elsie Doris Moss Memorial Concerto Prize (GSMD, 1994), First Prize Chamber Music Prize (GSMD, 1994), First Prize First Year Cello Prize (GSMD, 1992), Finalist Dorothy Adams String Quartet Prize (GSMD, 1992), Finalist Lutine Prize (Junior GSMD, 1990).

Honoka has played the Beethoven Triple concerto with her sisters at the major venues including the Barbican Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, West Road Hall, Cambridge, Atheneum Hall (Bucharest), Sala Casel Armatei, Romania, Radio Hall, Bucharest - which was broadcasted live by TV and Radio, and the Brahms Double Concerto at the St.John's Smith Square in aid of the Airey Neave Trust, and the Sala Casel Armatei, Romania.

With her sisters, she has played at major venues including the Wigmore Hall, St.John's Smith Square, St.Martin-in-the-fields Church (London), the Crucible Theatre (Sheffield), the Salisbury Festival (Salisbury), Rhodes Hall (UK), the Ateneum Hall (Bucharest), Sala Casel Armatei (Romania), the Chappelle Historique Hall (Montreal), the Salle Willfried Pelletier of the Place des Arts (Montreal), Cemal Resit Rey Hall,and the Destck Reassurans' Hall in (Istanbul, Turkey), Instituto Giapponese di Cultura (Rome), Egyptian Opera House Small Hall (Cairo), Musse dus Beaux Arts (Alexandria, Egypt), Complexe Sidi Belyout (Casablanca, Morocco), Ahmed Bahnini Concert Hall (Rabat, Morocco).

Recently, she has performed the complete works for cello by Chopin, Dvorak and Schumann cello concertos with the Exeter Symphony Orchestra, 5 concerts of the Beethoven Triple Concerto in Loire area, France with the Orchestre National de Pays de la Loire, and has recorded the chamber music works by Takemitsu for ASV Records, which was released in 2001 to coincide with the Fujita Trio's Wigmore Hall recital in June.

Honoka has recorded the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio, Shostakovich No.1 and No.2 Piano Trios, Ravel Piano Trio and Schubert Piano Trio No.1 and No.2 with the Swedish label Intim Musik.

Future engagements include concerts in Sweden and throughout the UK.


"Honoka Fujita makes something rich and beautiful of the microtonal cello writing in Orion and treads the line between lyricism and kitsch carefully" The Strad 2001

Click here to listen to Honoka playing the Andante molto tranquillo from
Grieg Sonata.

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Born in Japan, Arisa came to England in 1985 to study with David Takeno. In 1988, she won the Audi Junior Musician Competition. She entered Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1991 (where she now teaches) and won all available violin prizes, Rose Bowl, Sheriff's Prize and a Silver Medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians. She graduated with B.Mus (Hons) First Class Degree in 1995 and gained Concert Recital Diploma (Premier Prix) in 1998. Arisa was also a recipient of the Emily English Award, Maisie Lewis Young Artists Award and the Boise Foundation Scholarship. She was also a semi-finalist in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1998.

Arisa has performed concertos in numerous venues including the Barbican Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, St.John's Smith Square, Purcell Room, St.Martin-in-the-Fields, St.James' Piccadilly, also, in Belgrade (Yugoslavia), Montana (Switzerland), and Bucharest, Brasov (Romania). Also, with her two sisters, as the Fujita Piano Trio, she has performed the Beethoven Triple Concertos numerous times including a live TV and Radio broadcast with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra in Bucharest. She has performed in many countries around the world including France, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Yugoslavia, Canada, Romania, Turkey, Morocco, Japan and the UK, also a tour of Rome, Morocco and Egypt organized by the Japan Foundation in 1998.

Recently, Arisa has being attending the Open Chamber Music Seminar of the IMS Prussia Cove for the past 6 years and has also taken part in their national tour in 1999, part of which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Also in 1999, Arisa and her sisters made a highly acclaimed Wigmore Hall Debut as the Fujita Piano Trio, performed in concerts with the cellist Steven Isserlis performing the Saint-Saens "La muse et le poete" for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in Oxford, Bath and Swindon, and gave a solo recital at the King's Lynn Festival.

In 2000, she performed with her two sisters at the Purcell Room, as the Fujita Piano Trio, as part of the Kirckman Concert Society, and also made a successful Trio debut in Japan at the Oji Hall in Tokyo. In 2001, the Trio gave another successful Wigmore Hall recital, which was part of the Japan2001 Festival, performing works including the European Premiere of Trio Fantasy by the Japanese composer Toshi Ichiyanagi.

Recently, she has recorded chamber music works by Toru Takemitsu on the ASV Label with her two sisters, which was highly acclaimed worldwide.
In January 2002, she has performed Taneyev String Quintet and the String Trio in Eb with Steven Isserlis for the Taneyev Festival at the Wigmore Hall, which, one of the concerts was broadcast live on the BBC Radio 3. 2002 saw a tour of the Beethoven Triple Concerto in the Loire area, France with the Orchestre National de Pays de la Loire, conducted by Issac Karabchevsky, solo concerts in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Japan and in UK.

In June 2003, Arisa with her sister Megumi made a highly acclaimed recital at the Wigmore Hall performing a programme including a London Premiere of the Suite by Alexander Goehr, and in 2006 toured Sweden with Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. Arisa has recorded the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio, Ysaye Six Sonatas for Solo Violin and Shostakovich/Ravel Trios and Schubert Piano Trios with the Swedish label Intim Musik.

Future engagements include concerts in Sweden and throughout the UK.

Arisa currently teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

"(Arisa Fujita) gave a remarkably impressive recital at the Wigmore Hall...
brilliantly and movingly played." Musical Opinion 2003 Wigmore Hall Recital

Click here to listen to Arisa playing the Allegro from
Beethoven "Spring" Sonata.

 

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Updated 21/04/08
Profile
Arisa Fujita - violin
Megumi Fujita - piano
Honoka Fujita - cello