Ayako Tanaka was born in Osaka, Japan, and received her early musical training in the Hungarian tradition.
A highly accomplished violinist, she has been the concertmaster of the Orchestre National de Lille since 2017.
In 2024, she joined the Strada Quartet, performing alongside Pierre Fouchenneret, Lise Berthaud, and François Salque.
From 2009 to 2017, Ayako served as assistant concertmaster of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France under the direction of Myung-Whun Chung. She currently teaches at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.
Ayako has earned multiple awards, including second prize at the Wakayama Competition, first prize at the Osaka Competition, and the laureate of the Japan Soloists Competition.
She studied under Tibor Varga in Europe and later entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon (Mr. Peter Csaba’s class), where she graduated with top honors.
In 1995, she won the Rovere d’Oro International Competition. From 1997 to 2007, she was the first violinist of the Psophos Quartet, which achieved major international recognition. The group won prizes at competitions in London, Osaka, Florence, Salzburg, and Bordeaux, performing over 800 concerts globally.
Ayako was also a member of the Orféo Quartet from 2007 to 2011. She enjoys chamber music collaborations with numerous renowned artists and ensembles.
Since 2006, she has been playing a 1628 Niccolò Amati violin, generously loaned by two anonymous donors.
