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Sumire Kudo and Alan Gilbert awarded with the Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award

from left: Mr. Norio Ohga, Mr. Alan Gilbert, Ms. Sumire Kudo, Mr. Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi
Award Ceremony Tokyo, December 13, 2005

The 4th Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Awards ceremony was held on December 13 in Tokyo. Recipients were Sumire Kudo (cello) and Alan Gilbert (conductor). Kudo is also a profiled artist on this website.

This annual award, recognizing talented young cellists and conductors, was established by Sony Music Foundation in 2002 on an endowment from the late wife of cellist, conductor and educator, Hideo Saito (1903-1974).

Selection committee for this award are Norio Ohga (conductor, honorary chairman of Sony Corporation and chairman of the Board of Sony Music Foundation), Seiji Ozawa (conductor) and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (cello). Selection committee members released the following comments on this year's award recipients.
(From Sony Music Foundation press release 2005/12/13)

The 4th Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award
Award Presentation to Alan Gilbert

Seiji Ozawa

Alan Gilbert is one of the young and gifted conductors whose future success I look very much forward to. He currently takes up the role as the music director of Santa Fe Opera and principal guest conductor of NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg, and has been highly acclaimed from numerous orchestras around the world. I invited him this spring as our orchestra conductor for the 1st Tokyo Opera Nomori. The all-R. Strauss program that he conducted brought great success, clearly demonstrating his abilities to meet and exceed my, and the orchestra’s, expectations.
Alan Gilbert truly deserves to be awarded the 4th Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award and I am confident that he will continue with his accomplishments for an even successful musical career.

The 4th Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award
Award Presentation to Sumire Kudo

Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi

Sumire Kudo’s gift to play the cello was discovered from an early age by the late Professor Yoritoyo Inoue, who took and developed her talents for her to become a great artist she is known today. Kudo began her training in an ideal environment, as her father was also a cellist, and her exceptional musicality became prominent at the Toho School of Music. Her unique and distinct interpretation of the music gained considerable attention and led her to begin her solo career. Unlike her lovely and feminine name Sumire (violet), her performance can be quite masculine with a tone that is remarkably full and dense. Although one thinks she would be well satisfied with the career she already established, Kudo constantly seeks to take on new challenges, and she decides to continue studying at the Juilliard School (New York). By receiving extensive training in chamber music on top of her solo works, she developed to become an even more complete musician and artist. She is currently involved as a member of the Avalon String Quartet, at the same time taking on numerous solo engagements and also serving on the faculty at the Indiana University. I am always very delighted to attend her concerts whenever she is in Japan, as her playing clearly seems to add more refinement and depth with every performance. As a prospective young artist who continues to boldly open her own path, Sumire Kudo is certainly an excellent candidate to receive this award.

Sumire Kudo
http://japansclassic.com/artists/kajimoto_07/sumire_kudo.html

Sony Music Foundation
http://www.smf.or.jp/

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