Career and Performance Activities

Kyoko Takemoto graduated from the Piano Department of the Faculty of Music at Tokyo University of the Arts and completed her graduate studies at the same institution.
She has pursued an active performance career both in Japan and internationally, presenting a wide repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary works.

Her discography includes fourteen CDs, featuring solo piano recordings such as Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky, Liszt’s Après une lecture de Dante, Schumann’s Fantasy, and works by Chopin, as well as chamber music recordings including piano quintets with the Israel String Quartet and the Warsaw Quartet.
She has also collaborated with distinguished artists such as Ernst Ottensamer, former principal clarinetist of the Vienna Philharmonic, Ryoichi Fujimori, principal cellist of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Yasushi Toyoshima.

Her performances with renowned musicians are available on YouTube and have received high critical acclaim.

Educational Activities and Development of Performance Methods

Takemoto developed the Image-Based Performance Method, an approach that guides musical interpretation through imagery, color, and narrative to deepen musical expression.
She has published several influential books, including Musical Image Performance Method (Doremi Music Publishing) and Kyoko Takemoto’s Image-Based Performance Method—a guidebook and workbook for pianists (Ongaku no Tomo Sha).

She founded and directs the Kyoko Takemoto Image-Based Performance Method Research Society, through which she conducts public lectures, workshops, and lecture-recitals nationwide.
In recognition of her outstanding educational contributions, she has received numerous Best Teacher Awards from major competitions, including the Japan Classical Music Competition, the PTNA Piano Competition, the Kawai Music Competition, the Europe International Piano Competition in Japan, and the Chopin International Piano Competition in Asia.

Research on Music, Mind, and Body & Therapeutic Pianism™

In recent years, Takemoto has focused on scientifically demonstrating how music can enhance human well-being.
With support from Japan’s competitive research grants, she has conducted interdisciplinary research in collaboration with medical and psychological researchers, presenting her findings through academic conferences and scholarly publications.

Based on this research, she established Therapeutic Pianism™, an advanced methodology that integrates the theoretical foundations of the Image-Based Performance Method with principles of music therapy, aiming to maximize music’s beneficial effects on the mind and body.

Awards

Her honors include the Nagoya City Art Festival Award, the Aichi Education and Culture Award, the Krasnodar International Music Festival Art Award, the Nagoya City Art Encouragement Award, the Aichi Prefectural Arts and Culture Award, and the Nagoya Pen Club Critics’ Award.

Current Positions and Social Contributions

She currently serves as Visiting Professor at Nagoya College of Music and Professor Emeritus at Aichi University of Education.
She is a permanent committee member of the Chopin International Piano Competition in Asia and frequently serves as a jury member for major competitions, including the Osaka International Competition, the Performer’s Competition, and the Nagoya Youth Piano Competition.

As Music Director of the Midori Music Festival and Chairperson of the Nagoya Youth Piano Competition, she is actively engaged in social and community-oriented musical initiatives.