With her exceptional talent, musical integrity, and charisma, Nobuko Imai is considered to be one of the most outstanding violist of our time.

She combines a distinguished international career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. She has appeared with many of the wolrd’s prestigious orchestras such as Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London, Boston, and Chicago Symphonies, among many others. Her chamber music collaborators include Gidon Kremer, Midori, Yo Yo Ma, Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich, and Andras Schiff.

Nobuko Imai has dedicated a large part of her artistic activities to explore the diverse potential of the viola. In 1992 she founded the annual “Viola Space” project which is dedicated to “celebrating the viola, introducing outstanding works and new works for viola”. And also, since 2009, the Tokyo International Viola Competition is held every three years as part of the Viola Space. Next year the Viola Space will see its 29th edition under the co-direction of Ms. Imai and Antoine Tamestit who serves as Programming Director since 2013. She is also keen to expand the viola repertoire and has given a number of first performances of the composers such as Toru Takemitsu, Toshio Hosokawa, Ichiro Nodaira, Michael Tippett among many others.

An impressive discography of over 40 CDs shows Nobuko Imai’s recordings for prestigious labels such as Philippe, BIS, Deutsche Grammophone.

Ms. Imai is a professor at Amsterdam Conservatory, Kronberg International Academy, and Queen Sofia College of Music in Madrid. She is also a professor extraordinarius at Ueno Gakuen University in Tokyo and a guest professor at Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

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