KAORI FURUSAWA

In July of 2023 Kaori Furusawa was awarded the 2nd price on the Ysaye International Music Competition. In 2021 she received the biennially awarded Ana Chumachenco Prize at the Kronberg Academy. In 2019, she won the Audience Prize at the 7th Sendai International Music Competition. After graduating from University of the Arts Berlin as a student of Prof. Mark Gothoni in 2022 she continues her studies with Ms. Byol Kang at HfM Hanns Eisler Berlin. She is a scholar of Yamaha Music Foundation 2024-25. Kaori Furusawa is a scholarship holder of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and, as a prizewinner of the 32nd competition of the Deutscher Musikinstrumentenfonds in 2025, plays a violin made by Enrico Rocca around 1900.

Was there a specific moment or experience that made you realize you wanted to become a musician?

As a child, I watched the documentary The Art of Violin over and over again. I was deeply moved by the performances of 20th-century virtuosos like Oistrakh, Kreisler, and Menuhin, and it made me dream of becoming a violinist myself.

When you perform, what do you hope to communicate or make the audience feel?

I want to be a musician who can convey the beauty of silence. Rather than projecting my own ego, I hope to reflect the pure essence of the music created by composers.

If you had to present yourself by playing a single piece from the entire repertoire, which one would you choose, and why?

The fugue from Bach’s solo sonata. I love solitude and contemplation. The fugue for solo violin is minimal in texture, yet it holds a vast, cosmic depth. Its strict structure and multilayered nature reflect my inner world.