Profile – Pianist Chika Inaoka
Chika Inaoka 稲岡 千架
The Pianist Chika Inaoka was born in Hyogo-Kobe,Japan.She has made a name for herself, especially in Japan, through her various projects. Critics have particularly praised her ability to combine musical tradition with contemporary forms of expression. Piano concertos, chamber music pieces, and solo works have been written for her. In the short documentary film “Hiroshima Bomb, Illusive Photography Memos,” which was directed by Hiroshi Nose, she performed the solo piano. The film achieved the Minister of Education award for fine arts.
She has released three solo CDs of W.A.Mozart’s music on the OMF label, since 2017. This recording project has been in collaboration with Bechstein Japan and Germany. All of these recordings have received critical acclaim. She has performed as a Soloist with the Korean Chamber Orchestra, the Ensemble Roca, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Theater Niedersachsen, as well as a chamber musician with members of the Dresden Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHK Philharmonic Orchestra, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. Her concert tours have taken her through Asia, Europe, and North and South America.
Chika Inaoka graduated from Kyoto Horikawa High School of Music and Tokyo College of Music in the Piano Performance Course. From 2000 she studied at Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts with Ok-Hi Lee and Prof.Rudolf Meister.She completed her postgraduate studies course in 2003 and her “Konzert Examen Soloist Course” with the highest honor in 2005 with the special support of a German government scholarship (DAAD:German Academic Exchange Service).
Even then, she had won prizes at international competitions, primarily as a Mozart interpreter. From 2005 to 2020, she taught at the Showa University of Music in Kanagawa,Japan. She is a regular as a Juror at piano competitions, particularly in Japan.
Chika Inaoka was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia in 2020 and now,she is back on the stage again as a Pianist with her music.
had to spend several years away from music being treated, but she is now back on the stage as a pianist again.
She was invited by the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis foundation in German to serve as an artist in residence from January to April 2025.