Kaito Kobayashi | 25, Japan

Second Prize | The Marion Thorpe Silver Medal

• Yaltah Menuhin Award (Chamber Music)

Kaito is the recipient of the Second Prize and Marion Thorpe Silver Medal at The Leeds International Piano Competition 2021. He performed works such as Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3 alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Debussy’s Preludes and Dvórak’s Piano Quintet No.2 with the acclaimed Castillian Quartet.

In 2014, Kaito began a two year Artist in Residency programme at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. He performed as soloist with the National Orchestra of Belgium, Liege Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel and indeed many Japanese Orchestras. Chosen by Maria João Pires as a member of her social project called ‘Partitura’, Kaito performed duo recitals with the famed pianist in Italy, Morocco and Japan. Born in 1995 in Yokohama, Japan, Kaito Kobayashi studied at the Yamaha Music Foundation and the Ueno Gakuen Senior High School, taking lessons in piano, composition, and general musicianship.