Nobuko Imai, Roland Pöntinen - A Bird Came Down the Walk (1997)

Nobuko Imai has been a leading viola player since the early 1990s. She studied at Tokyo's Toho Gakuen Music School before continuing her training in the United States at both Yale University and the Juilliard School. Following her graduation from Juilliard, she triumphantly vanquished all competitors to win the highest prizes at the Munich and Geneva international competitions. She is a former member of the prestigious Vermeer Quartet, known for sharp performances of the Mozart and Beethoven chamber repertoire. Since leaving this ensemble, she divides her time between performing as a soloist with the world's major orchestras, such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and teaching in Europe and Japan. She returns regularly to her native land where she serves as artistic adviser of Casals Hall in Tokyo. She also continues to be active in chamber music, performing alongside such greats as Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Itzhak Perlman, András Schiff, and the late Isaac Stern.