Momo Kodama has built her impressive career performing with many of the world’s most renowned orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian State Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Paris Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. She has worked under the baton of such distinguished conductors as Seiji Ozawa, Eliahu Inbal, Charles Dutoit, Kent Nagano, Roger Norrington, Lawrence Foster and André Previn.
She has performed in some of the world’s leading concert halls, including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Philharmonie and Konzerthaus in Berlin, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ in Amsterdam and Wigmore Hall in London. She is a regular guest at prestigious festivals such as Marlboro, Verbier, La Roque d’Anthéron, the Chopin Festival, Festival d’Automne, Festival de Saint-Denis, Enescu Festival, Tivoli Festival, Settembre Musica, Schleswig-Holstein, Miyazaki and Matsumoto (Seiji Ozawa).
As a chamber musician, she enjoys performing with renowned artists including Christian Tetzlaff, Renaud Capuçon, Augustin Dumay, Gautier Capuçon, Steven Isserlis and Jörg Widmann. To mark the centenary of Debussy’s death, she devised an original programme with actor Pascal Rénéric and baritone Josep-Ramon Olivé, premiered in Paris and later presented on tour in France and China.
Her repertoire ranges from the Classical and Romantic periods to contemporary creations, and works have been dedicated to her by composers such as Toshio Hosokawa, Jörg Widmann and Christian Mason. She is especially acclaimed for her interpretations of Olivier Messiaen’s music (Turangalîla-Symphonie, Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus, Catalogue d’oiseaux), and in 2006, at the La Roque d’Anthéron Festival, gave the world premiere of Messiaen’s previously unpublished Fantaisie for violin and piano, together with Isabelle Faust.
Her most recent album, released by ECM in spring 2021, was recorded with the Mito Chamber Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa and features concertos by Mozart and Toshio Hosokawa. Her two previous albums, La Vallée des cloches and Point and Line (Hosokawa/Debussy Études), also released by ECM, received enthusiastic praise from the international press: The New York Times, BBC Music Magazine (Recording of the Month), Classica (“Choc”), and Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Her discography also includes two albums of music for two pianos by Tchaikovsky and Martinů, recorded with her sister Mari Kodama for Pentatone, as well as Triton releases dedicated to Chopin, Debussy and Messiaen.
Born in Osaka, Japan, Momo Kodama grew up in Germany and then in France, where she studied at the Paris Conservatoire. She further refined her artistry with such masters as Murray Perahia, András Schiff, Vera Gornostaeva and Tatiana Nikolayeva. In 1991, she became the youngest ever laureate of the ARD International Competition in Munich.
Momo Kodama currently resides in Paris.