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Nodoka Okisawa × Saito Kinen Orchestra 2024OMF Live Recording to be Released by Decca Classics on Dec 18

The year 2024, marking the 40th anniversary of the Saito Kinen Orchestra, will culminate with the release of "Brahms: Symphony No. 1 & No. 2", a live recording of the orchestra conducted by Nodoka Okisawa at the 2024 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival (2024OMF). This recording is set to be released on December 18th (Wednesday) by the British label, Decca Classics.

Nodoka Okisawa, appointed by Director Seiji Ozawa as the first Principal Guest Conductor in the festival’s history, leads SKO in performances of Brahms’ Symphonies No. 1 and 2. For SKO, Brahms’ symphonies are a core part of their repertoire, having been performed in their entirety during the orchestra’s early international tours and shaping their artistic direction in their formative years. This summer’s debut performance of Okisawa as Principal Guest Conductor featured these Brahms symphonies and was met with great acclaim. The main feature of this release is the live recording from this highly lauded concert, coupled with R. Strauss' Don Juan, symphonic poem.

Seiji Ozawa and the SKO have an extensive recording history, highlighted by the 2016 release of Ravel L'enfant et les sortilèges by Decca Classics, which won the 58th Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. The most recent release by the Saito Kinen Orchestra was a live recording of the Deutsche Grammophon 125th Anniversary Special Gala Concert, conducted by Ozawa’s long time friend, conductor and composer John Williams, which was released in May 2024 by Deutsche Grammophon.

NODOKA OKISAWA / SAITO KINEN ORCHESTRA
"Brahms: Symphony No. 1 & No. 2"
Release Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2024
MQA/UHQ-CD UCCD-45032/3
Price: ¥4,400 (¥4,000 + 10% tax)

[Disc１]
1-4. Brahms: Symphony No.1 in C minor, Op. 68
5. R. Strauss: Don Juan, symphonic poem, Op. 20
[Disc２]
1-4. Brahms: Symphony No.2 in D major, Op. 73

Recorded at Kissei Bunka Hall (Nagano-ken Matsumoto Bunka Kaikan), August 2024

ORDER>>>

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SKO Brass Ensemble Matsumoto/Tokyo Tickets go on sale on Oct 5 (Sat)!

In February 2025, the brass, timpani, and percussion sections of the Saito Kinen Orchestra will embark on a tour across 9 cities in Japan. Tickets for the Matsumoto and Tokyo performances will go on sale starting Saturday, October 5!

12 world-class musicians will come together to deliver a rare ensemble performance you can only experience here. Don’t miss this special opportunity!

【Matsumoto】Feb 13, 2025 (Thu) @The Harmony Hall
【Tokyo】Feb 19, 2025 (Wed) 1@Sumida Triphony Hall Main Hall

Please see here for more information>>>

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The Curtain Closes on the 2024 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival! See you Aug. 10 to Sep. 9 in 2025!

The 2024 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival ran for 27 days from Aug. 9 to Sep. 4, featuring 11 performances across 8 programs. The festival concluded on Sep. 4 with the “Concert for Children” held at Kissei Bunka Hall, bringing this year’s celebration of music to a close.

The festival opened with the "OMF Chamber Music Masterclass –Woodwind Ensemble–," followed by a series of orchestral concerts conducted by Maestra Nodoka Okisawa (OMF Principal Guest Conductor), Maestro Tatsuya Shimono, and Maestro Radek Baborák, where the Saito Kinen Orchestra (SKO), celebrating its 40th anniversary, showcased its remarkable talent. The festival also featured three "Chamber Concerts" with exquisite performances by SKO members and other distinguished musicians, and the OMF Opera, where Maestro Toshiaki Murakami and SKO coaches expertly led the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Orchestra alongside outstanding singers. This year’s festival, dedicated "all performances in honor of the festival's Founder and Director, Seiji Ozawa," welcomed approximately 13,500 guests to concerts.

The traditional Welcome Parade and Joint Performance, a highlight of the festival since its inception in 1992, featured 46 groups and around 1,800 performers this year. The festival also continued its educational outreach with "Opera for Children," conducted by Maestro Toshiaki Murakami, and the "Concert for Children," conducted by Maestro Carl St. Clair, which provided over 10,000 students, including sixth graders and first-year junior high school students from Nagano Prefecture, with the opportunity to experience the joy of music.

To celebrate Director Seiji Ozawa's achievements, a series of commemorative events, including “A Tribute to Director Seiji Ozawa: Celebration of Seiji's Life,” were held. On September 1, the special event "Seiji Ozawa Day" brought together performances by the Festival Band, citizen choirs (both adult and children's), and the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Orchestra, with a total of about 500 performers. The celebration culminated in a spectacular display of 280 fireworks to honor the Director's birthday. The festival also included special exhibitions at the Matsumoto City Museum and the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, as well as memorial flags, message boards throughout the city, and special lighting at various venues, creating an entire city celebration of Ozawa's contributions to "Matsumoto—City of Music" over the past 30 years.

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to celebrate Director Seiji Ozawa's life and share the music that embodies his spirit with so many of you. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the volunteer staff, sponsors, and everyone who supported the festival.

We look forward to welcoming you again next year!

　The 2025 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival is scheduled to take place from Aug. 10 to Sep. 9. OMF Principal Guest Conductor Nodoka Okisawa will take on Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The production will be directed by the renowned Laurent Pelly, who has previously directed acclaimed works such as "The Cunning Little Vixen" (2008), "L’enfant et les sortilèges / L’heure espagnole" (2013), and "Le nozze di Figaro" (2022). This upcoming opera marks the highly anticipated reunion of Nodoka Okisawa and Laurent Pelly after their celebrated collaboration on "Le nozze di Figaro". Joined by the Saito Kinen Orchestra, this first opera production in three years promises to be a performance not to be missed.
Additionally, the festival will feature a diverse array of programs, including orchestra concerts, chamber concerts, "Opera for Children," "Concert for Children," and OMF Chamber Music Masterclass. Details on the performance schedule and programs will be announced at a later date. Please look forward to 2025OMF!

February 2025: Saito Kinen Orchestra Brass Ensemble to Launch Third Nationwide Tour After Six Years!

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“A Tribute to Director Seiji Ozawa: Celebration of Seiji’s Life” from Sep. 1st on YouTube

On Aug. 17th, as a special event of the 2024 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, "A Tribute to Director Seiji Ozawa—Celebration of Seiji's Life," was held receiving a tremendous response. We are pleased to announce that the live recording of this event will be released for free on Seiji Ozawa's official YouTube channel on Sep. 1st, which marks his 89th birthday.

The "Celebration of Seiji's Life" was organized to express gratitude to the Maestro, who dedicated over 30 years to the development of "Matsumoto—City of Music," as a Director of the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival (OMF). The Saito Kinen Orchestra(SKO), under the baton of OMF's principal guest conductor Nodoka Okisawa, presented Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus." Additionally, J.S. Bach's "Air" and Mozart's Divertimento K. 136, 2nd movement were performed without a conductor, evoking a moment that felt as if Maestro Ozawa himself were on the podium, creating the music together.

A specially edited video was also screened, revisiting precious moments shared with the Maestro. The event was hosted by Yumiko Udo, who met Maestro Ozawa during the Nagano Olympics and has maintained a close friendship with him ever since. The event concluded with a speech by Yumiko Udo and gratitude remarks from Seira Ozawa, SKO Representative and daughter of Seiji Ozawa.

This event welcomed one-thousand citizens of Matsumoto City and Nagano Prefecture as special guests, and public viewings were also held at two designated venues in Matsumoto.
Through the free release on YouTube, we hope that people not only in Japan but around the world will have the opportunity to share in Ozawa's belief that "people around the world are connected at the roots" and celebrate his remarkable life together.

Seiji Ozawa’s official YouTube channel

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February 2025: Saito Kinen Orchestra Brass Ensemble to Launch Third Nationwide Tour After Six Years!

In February 2025, the Saito Kinen Orchestra Brass Ensemble (SKO Brass), comprising the brass, timpani, and percussion sections of the Saito Kinen Orchestra, will embark on its third nationwide tour across 9 cities, marking their first in six years!
The Saito Kinen Orchestra Brass Ensemble was formed in 2015 for the "Chamber Concert" at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival. They have since conducted nationwide tours in 2017 and 2019, generating significant acclaim in each city. For this third national tour, 12 world-class musicians will come together, bringing a vibrant and varied program to your city. Experience the music of SKO Brass, renowned for its "orchestral-like, majestic, and brilliant sound"—an auditory experience not to be missed!

2025SKO Brass flyer

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Notice of Cancellation: Screen Concert @ Nagoya on Aug. 31 Due to weather conditions

The screen concert of the Orchestra Concert Program B (recorded on Aug. 16) conducted by Nodoka Okisawa, scheduled to take place at Hisaya Odori Park Media Hiroba in Nagoya on Aug. 31, has been canceled due to the expected approach of the typhoon.

Announcements regarding other venues will be made by the respective municipalities hosting the events.

We appreciate your understanding.

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2024OMF Screen Concert in Taiwan!

* For information about the screen concerts in Matsumoto City and across Japan, please visit following page:
https://www.ozawa-festival.com/en/news/2024/08/14/120000.html

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Chamber Concert Ⅲ　Cello Ensemble Saito　Encore

Thank you for coming to Chamber Concert Ⅲ at The Harmony Hall.

Encore was:

Schubert: Andantino from Rosamunde

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2023OMF Mo. Williams × Mo. Denève × SKO Orchestra Concert Program B on NHK "4K Premium Theater ”!

2023OMF Orchestra Concert - Program B will be broadcast on Aug. 26 (Mon) 1:10- on Japan’s public broadcaster NHK’s program slot “4K Premium Theater". A precious record of Mo. John Williams’s performance for the first time in 30 years; joint by Mo. Stéphane Denève who returned to Matsumoto after 10 years. Director Seiji Ozawa also appeared at the curtain call, celebrating miraculous performance of two conductors with the Saito Kinen Orchestra (SKO) together with the audience.

<On Air Schedule>
Aug. 26 (Mon) 1:10 -
NHK "4K Premium Theater"

2023 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival
Orchestra Concert Program B

<Program>
《All John Williams Program》

Saito Kinen Orchestra
Conductors: John Williams, Stéphane Denève

Recorded: 2023 Sep. 2, at Kissei Bunka Hall (Nagano-ken Matsumoto Bunka Kaikan), Matsumoto, Japan

Reference Link: 2023OMF Orchestra Concert Program B

Note: This program broadcast is limited to Japan.

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Aug. 25 (Sun) OMF Opera Puccini: “Gianni Schicchi”　Tickets for the Day Information

OMF Opera Puccini: “Gianni Schicchi” Tickets for the Day Information

Aug. 25 (Sun) performance
Venue: Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre Main Hall

Tickets Sold Out

Door Open: 14:30
Start: 15:00