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2021 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival (2021OMF)
Dates set for August 22 (Sun) – September 6 (Mon)!

We are pleased to announce the dates of the 2021 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival and the conductors of the orchestra concerts.
The Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival will take place for the first time in two years in Matsumoto City of Nagano Prefecture. It will be held over 16 days, from Sunday, August 22 through Monday, September 6, 2021. We are preparing to deliver first-class performances to audiences from stages in three venues in Matsumoto City and one venue in Nagano City while strictly following anti-infection protocols.
The Saito Kinen Orchestra (SKO), which is the backbone of OMF, will team up this year with Masaaki Suzuki and Charles Dutoit, both of who will be appearing in the festival for the first time. Mr. Suzuki, who will conduct Program A, is music director of Bach Collegium Japan and is internationally acclaimed as a conductor and performer of Bach. He has conducted numerous prestigious orchestras in Japan and abroad, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in recent years. Mr. Suzuki will be the first Japanese conductor since Kazuyoshi Akiyama in 2018, and his chemistry with the SKO is much anticipated for this program.
　The world-renowned Charles Dutoit, who, like Festival Director Seiji Ozawa, has studied under Charles Munch at Tanglewood, will conduct Program B. Director Ozawa has a deep connection with Mr. Dutoit, having invited him to the Boston Symphony Orchestra several times as a guest conductor when he was its music director. Dubbed a “Magician of Sound,” Mr. Dutoit has conducted numerous top orchestras, and whether a fan or not, it will be exciting to hear the timbre of the SKO sound under his baton.

Details of the Orchestra Concert Programs A and B, as well as dates and details about the chamber concerts, educational programs, and open events will be announced at a later date.

With the strong desire of Festival Director Ozawa to deliver live music, all the more because of the current situation, we will be holding the festival this year while implementing all COVID-19 prevention measures possible, with the tremendous cooperation of the people of Matsumoto City and Nagano Prefecture, corporate sponsors, and fans who are cheering us on from Japan and abroad. Summer in Matsumoto will be filled with music once again. The festival dates are shorter than usual, but our program rich with highlights to see and hear will grace the summer of Matsumoto.
*The program announced in this release is current as of May 2021. Dates, content, etc. are subject to change depending on the COVID-19 situation.

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Orchestra Concert

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Educational Program