Origin Michiaki Ueno

• Toshirō Mayuzumi (1929 - 1997): Bunraku:
• 1 Mayuzumi: Bunraku 09:50
• Tōru Takemitsu (1930 - 1996): Air (Arr. for Cello by Michiaki Ueno):
• 2 Takemitsu: Air (Arr. for Cello by Michiaki Ueno) 07:35
• Traditionnel: Sakura (Arr. for Cello by Michiaki Ueno):
• 3 Traditionnel: Sakura (Arr. for Cello by Michiaki Ueno) 03:29
• Teizō Matsumura (1929 - 2007): Air of Prayer:
• 4 Matsumura: Air of Prayer 16:23
• Kōsaku Yamada (1886 - 1965): Trifoliate Orange Flowers (Arr. for Cello by Michiaki Ueno):
• 5 Yamada: Trifoliate Orange Flowers (Arr. for Cello by Michiaki Ueno) 02:48
• Rentarō Taki (1879 - 1903): The Moon Over the Ruined Castle (Arr. for Cello by Michiaki Ueno):
• 6 Taki: The Moon Over the Ruined Castle (Arr. for Cello by Michiaki Ueno) 03:41
• Madoka Mori (b. 1994): Phoenix:
• 7 Mori: Phoenix: I. Act I. Appassionato 05:24
• 8 Mori: Phoenix: II. Prologue 01:02
• 9 Mori: Phoenix: III. Act II. Misterioso 03:48
• 10 Mori: Phoenix: IV. Intermezzo 01:57
• 11 Mori: Phoenix: V. Act III. Misterioso - Appassionato 06:11
• Total Runtime 01:02:08

Info for Origin

As a Japanese cellist, Michiaki Ueno wishes to introduce the world to the remarkable body of music composed in his homeland. At first glance, this might seem like a conventional statement - something anyone might say. Yet, when we consider his background, the words take on a different weight. Born in Paraguay (1995) and raised in Spain during his early years, Michiaki Ueno was captivated at the age of four by a video of Yo-Yo Ma. He received his first cello as a Christmas gift when he was five - marking the beginning of his musical journey. For someone like Ueno, Japan was both his homeland and a distant, unfamiliar place. “I never really thought deeply about Japanese culture,” he reflects. “When Europeans spoke kindly about Japan, I was embarrassed to realize how little I actually knew.” As he matured, Ueno found himself increasingly compelled to confront and contemplate his cultural identity. Unlike those who grow up immersed in Japan and take its environment for granted, Ueno approached it as something external—something to be consciously examined, understood, and deliberately chosen. It is perhaps through the very act of performing works by Japanese composers that he engages in this thoughtful process of selection.

Michiaki Ueno, cello

Michiaki Ueno
As the winner of the 75th Geneva International Music Competition 2021 and Bonn’s Beethoven Ring Award 2024, Michiaki Ueno has proven to be one of the most promising artists on the classical music scene.

Born in Paraguay in 1995, Michiaki started his cello studies at the age of five. At the age of eleven, he gave his first concerto performance at the prestigious Suntory Hall, playing the Lalo Cello Concerto. This later led to his success in becoming the first ever Japanese winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2009. A year later, he won first prize in the Romanian International Music Competition along with special prizes. He won first prize in the International Johannes Brahms Competition in 2014. His most recent award was first prize in the Geneva International Music Competition in 2021 along with three special awards, including the Young Audience Prize.

As a soloist, Michiaki has performed with numerous orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and New Japan Philharmonic among many others. As a chamber musician, he has shared the platform with artists including Jean-Guihen Queyras and Daniel Sepec. Michiaki has received musical education from the late Shoichi Baba, Iñaki Etxepare, and Hakuro Mohri. He also studied with Pieter Wispelwey at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf and with Gary Hoffman at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium where he obtained his Artist Diploma.

Michiaki has received numerous awards such as the Foundation for Youth Award (2011) and the Honourable Award (2015) both from the Iwatani Tokiko Foundation, the “Aoyama Music Prize” (2017), the Idemitsu Music Award (2022), the Hotel Okura Music Award (2023) and the Hideo Saito Memorial Award (2023) as a promising rising star. In 2021, he was conferred a commendation from the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan. He was generously supported by foundations such as the Meiji Yasuda Cultural Foundation, Rohm Music Foundation, Ezoe Memorial Recruit Foundation.

Michiaki performs on two fine instruments: a 1730 “Feuermann” Stradivarius, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation, and a 1758 P.A. Testore cello, on loan from the Munetsugu Collection, using a F. Tourte bow on loan from the Sumino Hiroshi Collection.

Booklet for Origin