Born in Tokyo in 1998, Karen Kuronuma obtained her piano diploma at the Tokyo University of the Arts under the guidance of Chiharu Sakai and Koji Shimoda. She is currently studying at the CNSM in Paris with Reiko Hozu and at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles with Johan Schmidt.
Karen won second prize at the 11th Frédéric Chopin International Piano Competition for Young People in Poland. She was also a finalist at the 15th Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists and received the Best Award for PTNA Piano Competition, category G.
After entering high school at the Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts, at the age of 16, she won First Prize in the Nomura Academy Award, the Iguchi Aiko Prize, the Music Encouragement Prize and the NHK Prize at the 68th Student Music concours of Japan, high school section.
She has played recital in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Hyogo, and her concerto appearances include the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.1, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major.
Winning the 2018 Muza Soloist Audition, Karen Kuronuma starred as Soloist of Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in “The Masterpiece Classics”. Whilst many concerts faced cancellations and postponements due to the COVID-19 crisis, The Masterpiece Classics took a new approach by broadcasting the no-audience concert on “Niconico Live”, which successfully gained over 10 million views and acclamations from media for manifesting new possibilities of Classic Concerts today. The CD of the live-streaming, released as “Live from Muza!”, won the Academy Award for Best Recording under Special Category and the Music Pen Club Special Prize.
In 2021, Karen Kuronuma began her studies at the Paris Conservatoire. That same year, she recorded her first solo piano CD entitled “Les soirée françaises” with Live from Muza!, which has been showered with praise in the interpretation of Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc in realizing her glowing world. Karen is regarded as one of the most remarkable pianists of the younger generation.
She won the Dany Pouchucq Scholarship Prize at the Ravel Festival in 2020 and the Medal of Honour at the 67th Maria Canals Competition in 2022.
She has given solo and chamber music recitals in France, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Japan. In 2022, she was selected by the Association Jeunes Talents, where she collaborated with pianist Noriko Ogawa, conductors Naoto Otomo, Daisuke Mogi, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Péter Csaba, violinist Mohamed Hiber, trumpeter Romain Leleu, cellist Peter Maintz, oboist Hans-Jörg Schellenberger, and soprano Juliane-Banse. She has been selected by the Santander Academy in 2023.
