THE HIDY-OZOLINS-TSUTSUMI TRIO was formed in 1973, and for over a decade was one of Canada’s most distinguished and recorded chamber ensembles. When Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi won the International Casals Competition in Budapest in 1963, the press called him a musician “whose discovery is comparable to that of David Oistrakh in the Brussels Competition in the 1930’s.” Born in Tokyo, he debut at the age of twelve with the Tokyo Philharmonic, performing the Saint-Saens concerto. Appearances with Japan’s leading orchestras followed, as did several major prizes. At eighteen he made his first international tour as soloist with the NHK Symphony Orchestra to India, Russia, and Europe. Following his Tokyo recital debut, a special Fulbright Foundation grant brought him to the United States to study with Janos Starker at Indiana University. Tsutsumi has since appeared as soloist with the ORTF in Paris, the Berlin Radio Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Concertgebouw, Warsaw Philharmonic, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, London’s Philharmonia; the Chicago, Indianapolis, Toronto, and Vancouver Symphonies; the Czech Philharmonic (with which he recorded the Dvorak Cello Concerto for Sony), and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, with which he toured Japan in 1985. He has also toured the USSR, and has appeared with Seiji Ozawa and the Tolio Gakuen Orchestra at the United Nations, a concert that was telecast worldwide. In 1988, he joined the faculty of Indiana University as Professor of Music. The Emperor of Japan presented him the National Academy of Arts Prize in Music on May 31, 1993. A student at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Marta Hidy’s career was launched at the age fifteen when she won 1st prize at the Remenyi Competition. International recognition soon followed as she won prizes at the Prague International Chamber Music Competition and the Warsaw Wieniawski International Violin Competition. In 1956 she came to Canada, as Concertmaster of Winnipeg’s Symphony Orchestra and CBC Orchestra. Later established in Hamilton, she founded the Sir Ernest MacMillan Ensemble while occupying the post of Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic. Arthur Ozolins, “Canada’s leading virtuoso pianist.” (The Los Angeles Times) was born to Latvian parents in Lubeck. His studies began in Buenos Aires, and continued in Toronto. At age thirteen, he entered Toronto’s Royal Conservatory, studying with Talivaldis Kenins, and Alberto Guerrero. At 14, The conductor Walter Susskind invited Ozolins to make his debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Ozolins has since appeared more than fifty times with the Toronto Symphony, and collaborated with them in numerous recordings. It was with this orchestra, under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis, that he toured and was the featured soloist at the Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center. He has performed with such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool, Halle, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, and Oslo Philharmonics, as well as the orchestras of Montpellier, Barcelona. Buenos Aires, Ulster, and Taiwan. His American orchestra debut was with the St. Louis Symphony. In Canada, he has appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, and The Montreal Symphony, among others. His many recordings have won him such top awards as Canada’s Juno Award. He has recorded Rachmaninoff’s complete concerti and the Paganini Rhapsody with the Toronto Symphony, Mario Bernardi conducting.
