Hirofumi Yoshida

Yoshida's parents, his father Toru from Tokyo and his mother Ayako from Hokkaido, send their son to the “Kōnodai High School”. Later, following his passion, Yoshida attends the Tokyo College of Music, where he specializes in piano with professor Yukiko Okafuji, in contrabass with Mitsuru Onozaki, in musicology with Reiko Arima and Tomiko Kojiba and in conduction with Yasuhiko Shiozawa, Jun-Ichi Hirokami and Yujiro Tsuda. Between 1994 and 1995, Yoshida move to Vienna to obtain the Music and Arts Master at Vienna's University with the masters Hans Graf and Julius Kalmar. In 1996, he obtained the Advanced Music Master at the Chigiana Academy of Music in Siena with the masters Juri Temirkanov e Myung-Whun Chung[2][3]

In 2008, Yoshida conducted Don Carlos in Hong Kong.[4] In January 2009, he was appointed music director at Teatro Sociale di Mantova, Mantua, Italy.[5]

In March 2013, maestro Yoshida conducts Rigoletto[6] at al Teatro Vittorio Emanuele II of Messina on the occasion of 200 years from Giuseppe Verdi's birth. In July 2013 the Bologna Opera　House　(Teatro Comunale of Bologna) invited Yoshida on the occasion of its 250th anniversary to conduct two Baroque opera programmes composed by Padre Martini: Il maestro di musica and Il Don Chisciotte.[7][8][9][10] In October 2013 Maestro Yoshida conducted the same production at Kyoto Opera Festival, which is organised with the support of the Japanese government and whose Artistic Director is the same Hirofumi Yoshida. One of the recitals took place in Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, which is UNESCO World Heritage site. It was the first time in Japan (Yokohama and Kyoto). It was the first time in the 1400 years of history of the temple that an opera performance was held in there. In the same year, Maestro Yoshida is awarded he was awarded the “Enrico Caruso” International Prize, which is conferred to Non-Italians who have made a great contribution to promoting Opera in Italy.

In 2014 Hirofumi Yoshida has been appointed Artistic Director of the Bologna Opera House Philharmonic Orchestra (Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, FTCB). On his debut concert Yoshida conducted Brahms's Violin Concerto in D major[11][12][13] with Baiba Skride as soloist and Mozart's Symphony no. 41 Jupiter.[14] At present Hirofumi Yoshida is also associate professor at Toho College of Music.[15][16]

In February 2015 Hirofumi Yoshida conducted eight performances of Madama Butterfly at Bologna Opera House. In May–June 2015 he conducted 6 performances of Don Pasquale at Teatro Verdi in Trieste. In July 2015 he has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of Bologna Opera House. During Kyoto Opera Festival 2015, in September, he conducted four performances of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in Kyoto, in Tokyo and at World Heritage site Himeji castle in Himeji.

To celebrate the New Year, on 1 January 2016 Hirofumi Yoshida conducted the first New Year's Concert in the history of Bologna. The event took place at Teatro Auditorium Manzoni with the presence of the Bologna Opera House Philharmonic Orchestra. Between May and June 2016 he conducted six performances of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Bologna Opera House in Bologna. At present Hirofumi Yoshida is designated professor at Toho College of Music, in Japan.

• Third prize, 2005 Bartok International Opera Conducting Competition[25]

• Official website