Rising Stars

Three to look out for…

Mao Fujita Pianist

Born: Tokyo, Japan

Career highlight: Playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra – with no rehearsal. Also, I was asked to step in with halfan-hour’s notice for the closing performance of the Riga Jurmala Music Festival.

Musical hero: William Kapell was such a unique pianist with incredible improvisational skills. His Chopin recordings are particularly good.

Dream concert: Next year, I’m going to Israel for the first time to perform eight concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. I feel so lucky to be able to visit such a historic place at such a young age.

Jordan de Souza Conductor

Born: Toronto, Canada Career highlight: I have a reel of special memories: the magical quiet moments played by the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, the virtuosity of the Philharmonia Orchestra and the strokes of comic genius at the Komische Oper Berlin.

Musical hero: I admire the conviction of conductors Erich Kleiber and Arturo Toscanini, who stood for something bigger than music.

Dream concert: After the past year, it’s a dream just to hear an orchestra tuning up! But if I could organise a concert with musicians from the past, it would be an improvisation competition between Bach, Mozart and Oscar Peterson.

Cristina Gómez Godoy Oboist

Born: Linares, Spain Career highlight: Recording two major oboe concertos by Strauss and Mozart with Daniel Barenboim and the Westeastern Divan Orchestra for my debut on Warner Classics. Those concertos were the reasons I initially fell in love with my instrument. Musical hero: My first oboe teacher Esteban Doria, who awakened in me the desire to become a musician, even though I didn’t come from a musical family.

Dream concert: Playing a concerto with my extraordinary orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, with my grandfather in the audience. Despite not being a musician himself, he loved the fact I played music.