Sony Classical has signed Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino. The New York-based artist’s debut album for the label is scheduled this autumn, and will feature music by, among others, Bach, Fauré, Purcell, Sakamoto and by Sumino himself.

Sumino first gained international recognition in the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where he reached the semi-finals. This had followed winning the Grand Prix of the PTNA Piano Competition in Japan while a graduate student at the University of Tokyo

Gramophone critic Jed Distler, who was writing a daily blog about the 2021 Chopin Competition for our website, described Sumino at the time as ‘a genuinely accomplished pianist. He also holds a master’s degree in science and engineering from the University of Tokyo. In other words, he’s serious, as his rock-solid performance of Chopin’s Second Ballade this morning amply demonstrated.’ 

Per Hauber, President of Sony Classical, said of Sumino: ‘Hayato impressed us with his outstanding pianistic abilities and his charismatic personality. Versatility and curiosity are the attributes that best describe him and they will also mark our partnership’.

As for his own compositions, Sony Classical refer to his ‘own distinctive and appealing compositional style that successfully melds all of his musical passions drawn from the worlds of classical, jazz, film music, post-classical and electronica and is much in-demand for film and TV scores in Japan.’ All this - as well as his artistry in core classical works - can be explored online; Sumino has a huge following on social media under the nickname ‘Cateen’, with more than 1.5 million followers across his channels.

Sumino has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Hamburg Symphony, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. He was also included in the Forbes Japan 30 Under 30 list, and is a Steinway Artist and ambassador for CASIO electronic musical instruments.