Michio Nishihara Toro

Michio Nishihara Toro has excelled many of his generation of South American pianists, for his vibrant musical and authoriative performances.

Born in Concepcion, Chile in 1972, he received his musical education from Mario Baeza at the Regional Conservatoire of Music, Antofagasta, and subsequently was under the supervision of Maestro Oscar Gacitúa in Santiago, Chile. In 1992 he moved to Poland to continue his studies with Professor Katarzyna Popowa-Zydron´ at the Bydgoszcz Music Academy. He has been invited by Maestro Viktor Merzhanov, Russian Federation, to pursue post-grade studies at the Tchaikowsky Conservatoire in Moscow.

Since his first public performance, Nishihara has given numerous concerts in South America and Europe, performing with the Breslau Philharmonic Orchestra and the I.J. Paderewski Philharmonic Orchestra in Bydgoszcz. He also gave recitals at the Musical Society in Varsovia and Szafarnia Duszniki Zdroj in Antonin on the occasion of Fryderyk Chopin’s anniversary. During the 93/94 season he gave a recital at the George Enescu Hall, in Romania followed by performances in Germany, Italy, France and Spain.

He is prizewinner at major international competitions such as, the Claudio Arrau Piano Competition, in Chile and the Arthur Rubinstein in Memoriam, a Polish special prize for the best performance of Szymanowski’s music in 1993. One year later he won the Grand Prix at the seventh Piano Competition “Im. Antoniego H. Radziwitta”, Antonin, Poland. In 1995 he represented Chile at the Fryderyk Chopin Competition in Varsovia. He has recorded internationally for radio and television, performing and broadcasting for Radio France and Polish Radio.

His Concerto’s repertoire includes, Piano Concerto K.V. 488, (Mozart), Piano Concertos 3rd and 4th, (Beethoven) Second Piano Concerto, (Chopin), First Piano Concerto, (Liszt), Second Piano Concerto, (Rachmaninov) and many more. He has a solo recording of Romantic Classics by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Granados, produced by Studio ALLBUM, Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Forthcoming engagements include a tour to the USA, Japan and China and a new CD. He presently lives in Poland.