
Kentaro KONISHI
Born in Tokyo in 2001, Kentaro Konishi is a Japanese violinist and the second violinist of Quartet Fugue, which won Third Prize at the 2026 ARD International Music Competition in Munich.
Following his studies in Japan, he is now based in Hannover, Germany, where he is pursuing a master's degree in Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with Prof. Oliver Wille.
As a member of Quartet Fugue, he also won Second Prize and the Bordeaux String Quartet Festival Award at the 2026 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. In Japan, the quartet won First Prize and the Beethoven Prize at both the 2024 Akiyoshidai Music Competition and the 2025 Munetsugu Hall String Quartet Competition. The quartet also received the 2025 Aoyama Music Award (Barocksaal Prize).
As a soloist, his awards include First Prize at the 2017 Vienna Beethoven International Violin Competition in Austria, First Prize at the 2017 Nałęczów International Violin Competition in Poland, First Prize at the 2013 Japan Performers Competition, and Second Prize at the national finals of the 2013 All-Japan Student Music Competition.
He has participated in festivals including the Tokyo Spring Music Festival and the Singapore Violin Festival. He has also served as guest concertmaster of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and was a Fellow of the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy from 2022 to 2026.
He graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts. He has studied with teachers including Takashi Shimizu, Fuminori Shinozaki, and Daniel Gaede.