The Japanese lutenist Asako Ueda is based in the Netherlands and Switzerland, pursuing her passion for early music performance, especially chamber music from the 15th to 17th centuries.

She won first prize at the Biagio Marini Competition (DE), third prize at the International Van Wassenaer Competition (NL), and second prize at London International Festival of Music (UK). She has played at several music festivals and concert halls, among which Concertgebouw Amsterdam (NL), Amuz (BE), The New National Theatre Tokyo (JP), the Utrecht Early Music Festival (2020 and season 2021, 2024), LausPolyphoniae (2021 and 2023, as one of selected IYAP ensembles), Wonderfeel (2019), and Bach Academie Brugge (2019), and she is selected for the Artist-in-Residence Programme offered by the Schloss Weißenbrunn Foundation (2024).

She constantly collaborates with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century (NL), B’Rock (BE), Maarten Engeltjes & prjct Amsterdam (NL), Amsterdam Sinfonietta (NL), El Gran Teatro del Mundo (ES), Lucie Horsch, and Elisabeth Hetherington.

She is a co-founder of Sponte Sua (duo with Pablo Sosa, traverso) and Duo Minoriten (duo with Minori Deguchi, baroque violin).

In 2019, she established herself not only as a trusted ensemble player but also as a prominent soloist, giving solo recitals on theorbo at the Luitdag of the Dutch Lute Society, and on Renaissance lute at the Dag van het Kasteel.

She started taking elementary music lessons from the age of four. Her first instrument was the violin, which she started when she was five years old. She was specialising in contemporary music and performing premiers of newly composed music. After finishing her Bachelor’s degree in violin in Tokyo, she continued at the same college to study Baroque violin and composition.

“The moment when Ueda played ‘Toccata Arpeggiata’ [by Kapsberger] was beautiful. One could see it happen: the theorbo player completely detached herself from the score and became one with the music, which thus sounded compelling.”