Noriko Ogawa is a Japanese classical pianist. Born in Kawasaki, Ogawa studied at the Tokyo College of Music and the Juilliard School in New York, and later with Benjamin Kaplan. After coming second in a Japanese music competition in 1984, she gained third prize in the 1987 Leeds International Piano Competition, which launched her international performing career. Her New York d�but was in 1982 and her London d�but in 1988. Since 1997 Ogawa has been an exclusive recording artist for BIS Records. She has collaborated in a piano duo with British pianist Kathryn Stott since 2001, and the pair have recorded works by Delius for BIS Records. In 2003, they gave the first performance of Graham Fitkin's Circuit. She also has a longstanding collaboration with clarinetist Michael Collins. Ogawa is noted for recording the piano concertos of Alexander Tcherepnin with conductor Lan Shui and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Ogawa worked closely with Japanese composer T?ru Takemitsu, and appeared as an advocate for his music on the BBC World News classical music programme, Visionaries, in September 2008. 

January 1st, 1962 in Kawasaki (Age 62)