HARPSICHORD

Tetsu Isaji

Tetsu Isaji (1997–) is a harpsichordist and researcher. He received early musical training at the keyboard in Tokyo before taking up the oboe in London, which he played professionally until 2020. He entered the world of early keyboards through UK collections of antique keyboard instruments, which led him to combine performance and research during his studies at Oxford (BA) and Cambridge (MPhil). He has performed as a harpsichordist and clavichordist in France, Belgium, and the UK. In 2023, he won “Primo Premio” (First Prize) at the Wanda Landowska Festival and Competition in Puglia, and appeared as a continuo player for the Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg as well as in many other projects, both in Brussels and abroad. He is currently studying with F. Haas and P. Zanzu at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, and, aside from private tuition under C. Cerasi and M. Soné, has participated in masterclasses with B. Alard, P. Hantaï, and B. Kuijken. His current research interests lie in Bach’s autograph thoroughbass figurings, and historical harpsichord regulation, a topic on which he delivered a paper in 2023 at the Tagliavini Collection (Bologna).