| Biography | Born in 1954, Ken Hakii grew up and studied the viola in Tokyo. He continued his studies at the Cologne Conservatory with Rainer Moog and had lessons with Milton Thomas and William Primrose.
He joined the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1985. He has served as principal violist since 1992.
Hakii performed as a soloist with the orchestra in Richard Strausss Don Quixote on a European tour in 1997.
He performed Kurtágs
concertante
for violin, viola and orchestra with his wife, violinist Hiromi Kikuchi, in November 2003. The couple also performed this work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, the Teatro della Scala Orchestra in Milan and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, among others.
Hakii has performed with his wife at leading international music festivals in Salzburg, Lucerne, Vienna, Paris and Venice. He is the recipient of awards including an Edison Classical and the Deutsche Kritiker Prize. In 2003, the New York Times named the CD Signs, Games, Messages, featuring music by Kurtág, best recording of the year. |