Jon Nakamatsu

Jon Yasuhiro Nakamatsu (born 1968, San Jose, California) is an American classical pianist[1] who resides in San Jose.

Jon Nakamatsu at the Peninsula Symphony concert, San Mateo, California on October 21, 2005

About

He is the son of David Y. Nakamatsu, a San Jose electrical engineer, and Karen F. Maeda Nakamatsu, a city employee. He was raised in nearby Sunnyvale, California and attended St. Francis High School.[2]

In June 1997 Nakamatsu won the Gold Medal at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas.[2] He was the first American to win this prize since 1981. Right after the competition, he quit his job as a high school German teacher to pursue a career as a classical pianist. He did not attend a music conservatory or major in music while he attended college and graduate school.

During the summer of 2005, Nakamatsu toured with the San Jose Youth Symphony in Spain, performing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, and in June 2007, he toured with the Peninsula Youth Orchestra to Budapest, Prague, and Teplice playing the same piece. During the summer of 2008, he also toured with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra to China, playing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

Education

• Studied piano privately with Marina Derryberry[3] since age 6 (1974).
• Graduated from Prospect High School, Saratoga, California, 1986
• A.A. Associate of Arts degree, Foothill College (community college), Los Altos Hills, California, 2000 (officially awarded long after degree requirements met)
• B.A. Bachelor of Arts degree in German Studies, Stanford University, California, 1991
• M.A. Master of Arts degree in Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education, California, 1992

Career

• May–June 2007: Regular Jury member, Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, Fort Worth, Texas
• 2006-current: Co-Artistic Director of Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival (with Jon Manasse)[4]
• June 2000: Regular Jury member (preliminaries only), Second International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, Fort Worth, Texas
• June 1999: Regular Jury member (all three rounds), First International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, Fort Worth, Texas
• 1997–current: Full-time pianist
• 1991–1997: German language teacher at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California and part-time pianist.

Debuts

venue	date
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra	22 May 2009[5]

Trivia

• Named Debut Artist of the Year in 1998 by National Public Radio’s Performance Today
• Was featured in Reader's Digest in June 1998
• Has been profiled on CBS Sunday Morning

Discography

compact discs

	title	label	date	catalog number	notes
1.	Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Jon Nakamatsu, Gold Medalist	Harmonia Mundi	June 1997	HMU 907218 (CD)
2.	Chopin Selected Works	Harmonia Mundi	October 1998	HMU 907244 (CD)
3.	Lukas Foss, Piano Concertos, Elegy for Anne Frank	Harmonia Mundi	April 2001	HMU 907243 (CD)	out of print
4.	Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Jon Nakamatsu, piano Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Christopher Seaman, conductor	Harmonia Mundi	September 2001	HMU 907286 (CD) HMU 807286 (hybrid SACD/CD)
5.	Wölfl, 4 Piano Sonatas, Piano Sonatos Op. 25 & 33	Harmonia Mundi	November 2003	HMU 907324 (CD)
6.	Brahms, Piano Sonata, No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5	Harmonia Mundi	October 2004	HMU 907339 (CD)
7.	Franz Liszt, The Dante Sonata & other works	Harmonia Mundi	14 November 2006	HMU 907409 (CD)
8.	George Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F, Rhapsody in Blue, Cuban Overture Jon Nakamatsu, piano Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Jeff Tyzik, conductor	Harmonia Mundi	8 May 2007	HMU 807441 (hybrid SACD/CD)	Billboard top classical albums[6] issue date rank 13 October 2007 not ranked in top 15 6 October 2007 15 29 September 2007 14 22 September 2007 10 15 September 2007 8 8 September 2007 4 1 September 2007 4 25 August 2007 7 18 August 2007 3 11 August 2007 7 4 August 2007 12 28 July 2007 9 21 July 2007 9 14 July 2007 9 7 July 2007 8 30 June 2007 11 23 June 2007 13 16 June 2007 21
9.	Johannes Brahms: Sonatas Op. 120 Number 1 in F minor and Number 2 in E-flat major for clarinet and piano with Jon Manasse, clarinet	Harmonia Mundi	8 January 2008	HMU907430 (CD)
10.	Robert Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9; Papillons, Op. 2; Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22	Harmonia Mundi	4 March 2014	HMU907503 (CD)

Nakamatsu is featured in the documentary movie "Playing with Fire": The Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, which aired on PBS television and is available on DVD.

Awards

award	competition	location	date
Gold Medalist ($20,000)	Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition	Fort Worth, Texas	June 1997 (quadrennial)
First Prize	Fifth U.S. National Chopin Piano Competition	Miami, Florida	1995

References

1. Ohlone College Foundation Event Archive Archived 2008-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
2. Patrick, Ruth (June 23, 2000). "Pianist Jon Nakamatsu: From Mountain View to Carnegie Hall". Mountain View Voice. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
3. Stanford Graduate School of Education > News Bureau
4. Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival website
5. Huliq News: Nakamatsu Debuts Vancouver Symphony
6. Billboard.com - Charts - Albums - Top Classical Albums

External links

• Jon Nakamatsu official web site
• Hear Jon Nakamatsu in concert from WGBH Boston
• Van Cliburn Foundation
• Harmonia Mundi
• youtube