Karen Kuronuma

Born in Tokyo in 1998, Karen Kuronuma is recognized as one of the most remarkable and promising talents of her generation. She won Second Prize at the 11th International Chopin Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Poland, received an Honorary Diploma at the 15th Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in Germany, and was awarded the Grand Prix at the PTNA Piano Competition (Category G).

Upon entering the Music High School affiliated with the Faculty of Music of Tokyo University of the Arts, she won First Prize at the age of 16 in the high school category of the 68th Student Music Concours of Japan. She also received the Nomura Academy Prize, the Aiko Iguchi Prize, the Music Encouragement Prize, and the NHK Prize. She has given recitals in Hokkaido, Tokyo, and Hyogo. Her notable concerto appearances include Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.

A laureate of the 2018 Muza Soloist Audition, Karen Kuronuma performed as a soloist with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in “The Masterpiece Classics.” While many concerts were cancelled or postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, “The Masterpiece Classics” took a pioneering approach by broadcasting a concert without an audience on Niconico Live. The event was a great success, surpassing 10 million views, and received widespread media attention for opening new possibilities for classical concerts. The live performance was later released as a live CD entitled Live from Muza!. In 2021, she released her first studio solo album since that live recording, Les soirées françaises, which received great acclaim for her luminous interpretations of works by Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc.

After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, where she studied with Chiharu Sakai and Koji Shimoda, Karen Kuronuma began her studies at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) in 2021. She received the Dany Pouchucq Scholarship at the Ravel Festival in 2020, the Honorary Medal at the 67th Maria Canals International Music Competition in 2022, First Prize at the Maria Giubilei Competition, and was named a laureate of the Gautier Capuçon Foundation in 2023. Continuing her remarkable career, she won Second Prize at the Vietnam International Music Competition and was named a Yamaha Music Foundation scholarship recipient in 2024. In 2025, Karen Kuronuma reached a major milestone in her career by winning First Prize at the prestigious “El Primer Palau” competition at the Palau de la Música Catalana. This led to invitations to perform as a soloist at leading European venues, including the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. For the 2026 season, she was selected as a scholarship recipient by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Government of Japan (Bunkacho).

In 2022, Karen Kuronuma was selected by the Jeunes Talents Association and has since collaborated with leading orchestras, including the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra, and Sinfonia Smith Square, working with conductors such as Naoto Otomo, Daisuke Mogi, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, and Péter Csaba. A passionate chamber musician, she has shared the stage with pianist Noriko Ogawa, pianist Frank Braley, legendary cellist Gautier Capuçon, violinist Mohamed Hiber, trumpeter Romain Leleu, cellist Peter Maintz, oboist Hans-Jörg Schellenberger, and soprano Juliane Banse. She was also selected for the Santander Academy in 2023.

Karen Kuronuma has been invited to numerous prestigious international festivals, including “Un été en France” with Gautier Capuçon, El Primer Palau, the Festival des Heures Musicales de Biot, La Vague Classique, the Colmar International Festival, the Fontdouce Festival, the Anghiari Festival, and the Snape Maltings Festival. She performs extensively as a solo recitalist and chamber musician across France, the Czech Republic, Vietnam, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

She is currently pursuing advanced studies at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) with Jean-Frédéric Neuburger and at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels with Johan Schmidt.