Born in Tokyo in 1955, Ken Takaseki graduated from Toho Gakuen High School and enrolled in the Toho Gakuen School of music. Hewon the Karajan Conducting Competition in 1977 while still at university.

After graduating from university he studied at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Academy (Karajan Foundation) at the invitation of H. von Karajan and worked as his assistant until 1985. He also studied under Hideo Saito, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Seiji Ozawa, and Tadashi Mori, and received instruction from Lenard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Andr'e Previn and Igor Markevich.

He made his debut as a conductor in Europe with the Bergen Symphony Orchestra of Norway in 1981, won the Hans Swarowsky International Conducting Competition held in Vienna in 1984 and made his debut in Japan in the following year at the subscription concert of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Takaseki served as musical director and chief conductor of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 1990 and has been musical director of the Gumma Symphony Orchestra since 1993 and conductor of the Shin-Nihon Philharmonic Orchestra since 1994.

Ken Takaseki is regarded as one of the most authoritative figures in Japan's conducting world after directing the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in 1986 and the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1991. He received the Akio Watanabe Music Foundation Music Award in 1996, And became Appointed chief conductor of our orchestra in April 1997.

Discography