Biography

Yuki Ito first appeared on the international stage playing the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Windsor Festival in 2011. Since then, praised by The Strad as “sensational” and for his “commanding technique and masterfully assured delivery of melody”, he has performed around the globe including recitals at Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York and the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.

In 2025 he world-premiered the Cello Concerto “Casanova” orchestral version at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of the composer of the work, maestro Johan de Meij, who had written the “Elegy & Scherzo (A Tribute to Rachmaninoff)” for cello and orchestra specially for Yuki Ito in 2023.

He centres Rachmaninoff in his wide range of repertoire, which naturally led him to make his world-wide debut CD “Rachmaninoff Complete Cello Works” in 2013 and publish his first book in 2023: a monograph “Insights on Rachmaninoff -from the Cellist’s perspective-” commemorating the composer’s 150th birth anniversary.

In recent years he has been invited to give masterclass by conservatoires such as the Ljubljana Academy of Music, Slovenia, and in 2025 he served as the youngest chairman of the jury at the International Music Competition “FLAME” in Paris.

He has been honoured with prestigious awards including The Musicians’ Company Award (2013/UK), Saito Hideo Memorial Fund Award (2019/Japan) and the Hotel Okura Music Award (2026/Japan) for his service to music.

Yuki Ito plays the “Maragarites” cello by P.A.Testore (Milan, c.1755) as the first ever Japanese official partner cellist of Larsen Strings.

Musicians’ Company Award: Allcard Fund Award 2013

Page Last Updated: April 2026