Debussy - Kotaro Fukuma (live London 2008) Suite bergamasque - Clair de Lune

Born in Tokyo, Kotaro Fukuma started learning piano at the age of 5 and has obtained many high awards in international competitions in such cities as Santander, Helsinki, Tel Aviv, Rio De Janeiro and Salt Lake City. In 2003, at the age of 20, Kotaro won both First Prize and the Chopin Prize at the 15th Cleveland International Piano Competition. Since then his concert career has developed on five continents (North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia). He studied music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (2001-2005) with Bruno Rigutto and Marie-Françoise Bucquet, then at the Univeristät der Künste Berlin (2005-2010) with Klaus Hellwig and at the International Piano Academy Lake Como in Italy (2006-2009). He also has studied with several great masters of the piano, including Leon Fleisher, Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode, Alicia de Larrocha, Maria Joao Pires, Leslie Howard and Aldo Ciccolini.