Informations
Facts
Born in London, United Kingdom
Member since 01.09.2009
Biography
Daishin Kashimoto became 1st Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2009, at the age of 30. The violinist, who grew up in Japan, the US and Germany, appears at least as often as a soloist with other ensembles as in his orchestral position – with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden and many others, naturally including frequent solo appearances with the Berliner Philharmoniker. He is also a much-sought-after chamber musician, whose extensive repertoire ranges from works of the Baroque period to contemporary music. At the age of seven, Daishin Kashimoto was accepted into the pre-college programme at New York’s Juilliard School of Music, the youngest student in this division. Since 2007, Daishin Kashimoto has been the Artistic Director of the Le Pont Music Festival, held in Ako and Himeji (Japan).
At the age of eleven, he began studying with Zakhar Bron at the University of Music in Lübeck, then continued his studies in Freiburg with Rainer Kussmaul, who was 1st Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker at that time. It was by no means a foregone conclusion that Kashimoto would later become one of his successors, however: “Rainer Kussmaul never pushed me into this position, but when it became clear that I would apply for it, he was very supportive.” A stroke of luck, according to the Bayerischer Rundfunk, since “one rarely finds a concertmaster as outstanding as the Berliner Philharmonikers’ Daishin Kashimoto”.
Awards
First Prize, Fritz Kreisler Competition in Vienna (1996)
First Prize, Long-Thibaud International Competition in Paris (1996)
First Prize, Cologne International Violin Competition (1994)
First Prize, Menuhin Junior International Competition (1993)
Ensembles of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Behind the music: Daishin Kashimoto
Video portrait
Our first concertmaster Daishin Kashimoto grew up in Japan, the USA and Germany, but feels closely connected to the Japanese mentality. In our video, he reveals what exactly the role of a concertmaster is and how his Japanese upbringing helps him in his work.
