Orchestra gets the thumbs up
“I AM inspired by the Cape Town Philharmonic.” These are powerful words, even more so when they are uttered by Yasuo Shinozaki, the Japanese conductor who took second prize in The Second Sibelius International Conducting Competition in 2000. He will be back in Cape Town to open theWinter Symphony season on June 4 at the Cape Town City Hall.
Shinozaki, whose career immediately exploded in Finland after his Sibelius win, was soon on the world stage. He was invited to conduct The Johannesburg Philharmonic and KZNPO in 2008; the CPO invited him the following year and from then he has been a fairly regular fixture on the podium.
“I fell in love with South Africa,” he says. “Beautiful country and good people.”
About the CPO he has this to say: “I think CPO is one of the best orchestras in the world. Each principal player has a very high level and the strings sound is very beautiful, led by three good concert masters. The orchestra is powerful and passionate. I am also looking forward to meeting the audience in the beautiful concert hall.”
Shinozaki has just been appointed Music Advisor and Chief Conductor of the Shizuoka Symphony Orchestra in Japan, and takes up that appointment in September.
He conducted Mozart with this orchestra before packing his bags for Cape Town and returns to it to conduct Prokofiev.
Shinozaki was born in Japan and studied in Vienna, Siena and America with icons such as Ozawa and Haitink. Following his Sibelius win, he was appointed assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
He established a strong career in Finland, conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic, The Turku Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic and Tapiola Sinfonietta, and was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Kymi Sinfonietta in Finland for seven years to 2014. He also conducts worldwide … The London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic and other major Japanese orchestras.
He has also embraced the world of opera, especially in Japan and the Philippines, and has made several recordings like Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder with the BBC Scottish Symphony and works by Rózsa and Korngold with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker.
Shinozaki is a keen supporter of contemporary works; his pro- grammes often fuse cultures, from east and west, encompassing works from Mozart, Mahler and Stravinsky to Takemitsu and John Adams. He has given numerous premières throughout his career, including works by Karen Tanaka and Osvaldo Golijov in Finland. In his concerts in June he will conduct two world premieres – the Laura Stevens’ Long Walk (about Mandela) on June 4 and the last work that Stefans Grové wrote, Bushman Prayers for Cello, Piano, Narrator and Orchestra, on June 11.
“I love to conduct contemporary music and especially to give world premieres. It’s our responsibility to perform new music. Imagine If Beethoven’s music had not been played in his time! I have always wished to conduct South African music in South Africa so it is a huge pleasure and exciting for me that I have two new pieces! Anyway, I’m very happy to conduct both Laura’s new piece and Bushman Prayer with Anzél Gerber and Ben Schoeman, for whom it was written.
“Grové’s concerto was composed two years ago. I met with Grové and Anzél in Pretoria when he was writing it. Although quite old, his brain was very clear and his speech powerful when he spoke about music. It was an impressive moment for me. It’s a great idea that each movement starts after a narration which leads into the movement. Because each part – cello, piano, and orchestra - is individual, the solo parts matching the orchestra part. You will be inspired by this new concerto!”
“Laura’s piece is amazing. There are a lot of elements and the piece amuses me very much. When I opened the page, I immediately understood her exceptional talent.”
Yasuo Shinozaki has acquired a truly international reputation for his emotionally direct style of music making and his musical knowledge. This is all the more interesting since he didn’t have a background in music.
“My parents are in the restaurant business,” he says. “They have a soba noodle restaurant in Kyoto. My family loved music and my grandfather could play various instruments. My sister became a ballet dancer, working in America. I don’t know why I wanted to become a conductor. All I know is that the orchestral sound impressed me very much, especially in ballet music like Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. I do remember that I conducted to the stereo speaker when I was five!”
Audiences can look forward to two great concerts – on June 4 and June 11. The soloist on June 4 is Awadagin Pratt in the Beethoven Piano Concerto no 1; the main work is Tchaikovsky Symphony no 4. In the second concert on June 11 with soloists Schoeman and Gerber in Grové, Shinozaki will conduct Dvorák Hussite overture and Sibelius Symphony no 1. The two soloists will also each play a piece with orchestra – Tchaikovsky Pezzo capriccioso for cello and Africa by Saint-Saëns, a work for piano.
Tickets: 0861 915 8000, www.computicket.com, Artscape Dial-a-Seat 021 421 7695. Info: luvuyo@cpo.org.za