Born in Tokyo, Yuzuko Horigome began playing the piano at the age of 4 and took up the violin at the age of 5. Her first violin teacher was Ryosaku Kubota, after which she further developed her talent under the direction of Toshiya Eto, at Toho Gakuen.
In 1980, Horigome won the first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, heralding the beginning of a successful international career. Since then, she has toured the world playing concerts under the direction of Erich Leinsdorf, Sándor Végh, Herbert Blomstedt, André Prévin, Claudio Abbado, Seiji Ozawa, Iván Fischer, Riccardo Chailly, and Simon Rattle among others.
She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Scala di Milano, Czech Philharmonic, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, New Japan, and NHK Symphony.
In early 2010, she performed Beethoven’s violin concerto with NHK Symphony, directed by Junichi Hirokami. Her performance, which was broadcast live by NHK, astonished critics who lauded her as the ‘best soloist’ of the year in Japan. A TV documentary called ‘Gifts For The Future’ on her social contribution was commissioned and broadcast by BS-TBS TV, in 2010.
In February 2008 she recorded three concertos by Lalo with Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, conducted by Marco Guidarini and in the autumn of 2016, Horigome played all of the Mozart Violin Concerti with the Hansjorg Schellenberger Conducting Camerata Academika Salzburg.
Horigome has worked closely with composers such as Takemitsu, Miyoshi and Yuasa, and recorded their violin concertos. She collaborated with Japanese composers such as Mochizuki, Gondai, Nodaira, Hosokawa, and Okada. During the project ‘Violin Works - Jojo no Tabi’, which was recorded live in Tokyo and Kyoto between 2005 and 2010, pieces were dedicated to her by composers such as Okada.
Horigome has recorded under labels such as Sony, Denon, Lockenhaus Edition, Camerata Tokyo, Nami Record, Talent, Dabringhaus und Grimm, René Gailly, and Pavane. Most recently, she recorded Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas, and Bruch & Brahms concerto with the Czech Philharmonic by Octavia Record.
Horigome is a passionate chamber musician and a frequent guest at festivals including Marlboro Music, Lockenhaus, Tanglewood and La Jolla. She has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Rudolf Serkin, János Starker, Martha Argerich, Nobuko Imai, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, Charles Neidich, Jean-Marc Luisada, and Abdel Rahman El Bacha.