Fuzjko Hemming

Born on December 5, 1932 in Berlin, Germany to a Japanese mother and a Swedish father of Russian descent, but educated in Japan, Hemming began learning to play the piano at a young age from her mother. She was identified as a child prodigy and performed her first concert at seventeen.

She went to Aoyama Gakuin Senior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Junior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School. She graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and began her professional career immediately. Hemming received many prestigious honors during this time, including the NHK-Mainichi Music Concour and the Bunka Radio Broadcasting Company Music Prize. She relocated to Germany at the age of 28 to study at the Berlin Institute of Music.

During a concert in Vienna in 1971, Hemming lost her hearing from a bout of high fever. She relocated again to Stockholm, Sweden to take advantage of its medical facilities. She performed many more concerts throughout continental Europe before returning to Japan in 1995.

A documentary that aired in 1999 raised public interest in her music. Her subsequent debut CD, La Campanella, sold over two million copies.

Hemming performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in June 2001. By 2002, Hemming had performed at every major population center in the world.