Sato started his concert career in the United States at age 12 by winning the
Young Concert Artists first prize in 1997, becoming the youngest winner.
National Symphony Orchestra (United States),
Minnesota Orchestra,
NHK Symphony Orchestra,
State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation,
Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra,
Omsk Academy Symphony Orchestra,
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France,
Gulbenkian Orchestra, and
Copenhagen Philharmonic. Writing for
The New York Times,
Allan Kozinn praised Sato in his New York recital debut in 2000 as having "developed an astonishing level of poise and musicality". In 2001, Sato became the youngest artist to perform
Beethoven's violin concerto at the Beethoven Festival in
Bonn, Germany, which was broadcast through
Deutsche Welle. He was the recipient of a loan by
Nippon Music Foundation and a winner of
Idemitsu Music Award in 2005 sponsored by
Idemitsu Kosan, one of the leading oil companies in Japan. In 2007, as a violist, Sato recorded viola solo sonatas written for Sato by
Akira Nishimura for Camerata Tokyo. As a baroque violinist, he won the Second Prize and the Audience Award at the 17th
International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany in July, 2010. The Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan chose Sato to be a recipient of the New Face Prize in the Music Division at its 65th Arts Festival based on his Baroque recital which took place in Tokyo on 29 October 2010. In October 2011, Sato made his UK debut in Cambridge and London with the
Academy of Ancient Music under the direction of
Richard Egarr, performing
Niccolò Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 2 with gut strings on a period instrument. In January 2013, Sato was appointed concertmaster of the
Netherlands Bach Society Orchestra, succeeding Johannes Leertouwer, as well as the
Concerto Köln. That same month, Sato also received a baroque violin made by
Giovanni Grancino around 1695 on loan from the Jumpstart Jr. Foundation in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In November, the
Amsterdam School of the Arts announced its appointment of Sato as a guest teacher to the Early Music Department. In December, Sato performed duo recitals of
Mozart's sonatas at the Izumi Hall in Osaka and the Toppan Hall in Tokyo, Japan along with German pianist and harpsichordist
Andreas Staier. In August 2015, Sato made his Canadian debut in Montreal with the
Montreal Symphony Orchestra under the direction of
Kent Nagano, performing
Johann Sebastian Bach's Violin Concerto No.1 with a period instrument. In September 2016, Sato made his Australian debut in Sydney and Melbourne with the
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra under direction of Paul Dyer, performing
Niccolò Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 4, playing with gut strings. In the tour, Sato directed
Felix Mendelssohn's String Symphony No. 3 and
Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite Op. 40. The live concert in Melbourne was recorded and broadcast by
ABC Classic FM, and in February 2017 it was released in CD from ABC Classics. In November 2016, Sato performed
Antonio Vivaldi's
The Four Seasons with
Concerto Köln, which was recorded live in Kempen, Germany, and released by Berlin Classics. On 11 May 2017, Sato was appointed the 6th artistic director of the
Netherlands Bach Society (Nederlandse Bachvereniging) beginning on 1 June 2018, succeeding
Jos van Veldhoven. In April 2019, Sato received the 31st Music Award in Classical Music/Solo Performance by the Japan Music Pen Club. From 28 September to 6 October 2019, as the 6th artistic director of the Netherlands Bach Society, Sato led a concert tour with the ensemble in Kyoto, Kanagawa, Hiroshima, and Tokyo Japan. On 1 January 2020,
Mainichi Shimbun published the 61st Arts Awards recipients, including Sato, based on his leadership of The Netherlands Bach Society's Japan tour and his J. S. Bach unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas recitals in Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Saitama, Hiroshima. Later that month, the Record Geijutsu Journal awarded Sato the 57th Record Academy Award Silver Prize, the highest prize as a soloist, highly evaluating his unaccompanied solo works by J. S. Bach, released the year prior. In March, the
Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the 76th
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Awards in Arts, which recognized Sato as a recipient of the Newcomer Award in Arts. On 11 December 2020, Sato officially debuted as a conductor at the
AVRO TV live televised concert of Netherlands Bach Society at
TivoliVredenburg in
Utrecht,
Netherlands. In April 2022, Sato conducted
St Matthew Passion, leading the Netherlands Bach Society as the first tour after
COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands lockdown. In January, February and June 2023, Sato, Clive Brown, and
Concerto Köln participated in "Historical Performance Practice of the 19th Century – Romanticism". In March, Sato conducted the
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra for works in the Classical and Romantic Periods, and also performed Violin Concerto No. 8 by
Louis Spohr. On 30 May 2023, Sato resigned as the concertmaster, soloist, and artistic director of the Netherlands Bach Society after a farewell concert. He said he wanted to play other kinds of music but was hindered by his obligations to the Bach Society. == Discography ==