Misato Mochizuki (Tokyo, 1969) is an internationally renowned composer active in Europe, North America and Japan. Her style uniquely blends Western traditions with Asian rhythmic sensibilities, resulting in an inventive body of work comprising around 70 compositions, including 17 symphonies. Her works, which have been performed at international festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, the Biennale di Venezia, Lincoln Centre Festival, Music days in Donaueschingen, Berlin, Witten, Cologne, Lyon, Zurich, Toronto and so on, have received numerous awards.

Since 2007, she has taught at Meiji Gakuin University and has been invited to lecture at top institutions worldwide. In 2024-2025, she will be a research fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin. Mochizuki also writes about music and culture for leading Japanese newspapers, with her essays published in book form in 2019. Her most outstanding productions include the orchestral portrait concert at Suntory Hall in Tokyo (2007 and 2019), the cinema concert at the Louvre with the music to the silent film Le fil blanc de la cascade by Kenji Mizoguchi (2007) and the portrait concerts at the Festival d'Automne in Paris, Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam (2010) or at Miller Theatre in New York (Columbia University, 2017).

Photo: Ayane Shindo7