Yumiko Urabe
Permanent Accompanist in the Kronberg Academy Study Programmes
Yumiko Urabe was born in Fukuoka (Japan). She first enrolled as a student at the Gei-Dai University in Tokyo and went on to obtain a masterclass degree with Klaus Schilde at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts.
Yumiko Urabe has been teaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich since 1988 and was appointed Honorary Professor in 2006. She was a prizewinner at the José Iturbi Competition in Valencia and the GPA International Piano Competition in Dublin. As an experienced and valued chamber music partner, she has performed worldwide with renowned artists such as András Adorján, Lisa Batiashvili, Ana Chumachenco, Veronika Eberle, Walter Nothas, Tatjana Vassilieva and Wen-Sinn Yang. Her concert appearances have taken her to well-known festivals in several European countries (Kilkenny Music Festival, MDR Musiksommer and the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival), Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Canada and the USA.
Radio recordings and CDs on the NAXOS and Traversières labels testify to her eminent artistry. In 2013 she was awarded the Fukuoka Cultural Prize in Japan.
Yumiko Urabe has been a permanent accompanist at Kronberg Academy since 2011.