Masanori Sugano Chamber Music Master Class at the Liszt Academy

Dates and venues:

Wednesday, 18th of February, 2026, 6-21PM, Room XXIII

Friday, 19th of February, 2026, 6-8PM, Room XXIII

Participation options & application:

Active participants:

• Chamber music groups formed by pianist students of the Liszt Academy (piano four hands, piano duo) may apply with the members’ names, their instruments, and pieces to be performed at the master class. You can apply using the online form below (on the form, fill in the names in the first two blocks). If the applications are more than the number of classes, the Head of Department will choose the performing groups with the supervision of guest professor.

Application deadline: Friday, February 13, 2026, 8.00

Passive participants:

• The master class is open to all students of Liszt Academy and Bartók Conservatory as passive participants free of charge, with no prior registration. Others must register at detari.alexandra@zeneakademia.hu email address. 

Masanori Sugano is a distinguished Japanese pianist and pedagogue, currently serving as a Professor at the Faculty of Music, Seitoku University, and a lecturer at Musashino Academia Musicae.

After graduating from the Tokyo University of the Arts, he completed his Master’s and Doctoral degrees at the same institution, becoming the first pianist to receive a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. His international studies include the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Hungary as a Rohm Music Foundation scholar and further studies in Germany.

A prize winner of numerous national and international competitions, he won first prize at the 48th All Japan Student Music Competition, the 6th Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey International Piano Competition (Canada), and the 15th Gianluca Campochiaro International Competition (Italy), and also the 3rd prize at the 25th Porto International Music Competition (WFIMC).

His performances have been broadcast by CBC (Canada) and NHK (Japan). He has performed with renowned orchestras, including the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Theater Hildesheim Orchestra. Known for his "brilliant and resonant tone" (as noted during the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition), he has given recitals across Japan, Spain, Hungary, and Germany.

In addition to his performing career, he served as the music supervisor for the popular manga/anime series "Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso". As a sought-after educator, he has conducted masterclasses in Romania, South Korea, and across Japan,

and frequently serves as a juror for prestigious piano competitions.