Naoko Yoshino was born in London. She began to study harp at the age of six with Susann McDonald, professor of music at Indiana University. At the age of 13 she won Second Prize at the 1st International Harp Competition organized by the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome. The top accolade at the 9th International Harp Competition in Israel in 1985, where she was the youngest participant, skyrocketed her to an international career. Her honours also include the Arts Festival Prize from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (1988) and the 1989 Mobil Music Award for Brilliant Young Musicians.
Naoko Yoshino has performed with the world’s leading symphony and chamber orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, Philharmonia Orchestra, Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Concentus Musicus (Vienna), under such conductors as Yehudi Menuhin, Seiji Ozawa, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Nikolas Harnoncourt, and Herbert Blomstedt. In 1994 she earned the honour of performing at the Vatican to commemorate the restoration of the Sistine Chapel.
A frequent guest at the festivals in Lucerne, Schleswig-Holstein, Davos and Matsumoto (Saito Kinen Festival) and New York (Mostly Mozart Festival), Naoko Yoshino is also known as a recitalist and chamber musician. Her partners have included violists Veronika Hagen and Nobuko Imai, oboist Hansjörg Schellenberger, and flautists AurŹle Nicolet, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Wolfgang Schulz.
One of her most fruitful collaborations has been with violinist Gidon Kremer, with whom she made a concert tour of Japan (1996) and recorded harp and violin repertoire for Philips; this led to invitations for both musicians from the Lockenhaus Festival, the Salzburg Festival and Gstaad Festival.
Naoko Yoshino devotes much attention to new music. She has premiered many works including Takemitsu’s And then I knew ‘twas Wind and Toshio Hosokawa’s Re-turning (harp concerto). Her discography comprises 5 cds for Sony Classical, four for Philips Classics and one each for Teldec and Virgin Classics.