Herbert Blomstedt & NHK Symphony Orchestra

Conductor Herbert Blomstedt (born in the U.S. in 1927 to Swedish parents) is one of the prominent leaders of the classical music scene in Japan, together with Russian Vladimir Ashkenazy, André Previn, Charles Dutoit and Seiji Ozawa. Tonight on NHK's N-Kyō-Hour program, he conducted Mahler's 9th symphony, a splendid recording from April 10, 2010 at NHK Hall in Tokyo.

In April, Herbert Blomstedt "conducted Bruckner Symphony No.5 and Beethoven Symphony No.3 Eroica, all large works deserving of a conductor of his stature."

"Words fail me," said announcer Iwatsuki Satoko, as the last notes faded away...

NHK Symphony Orchestra official website

Jean Sibelius: Tapiola op.112 Herbert Blomstedt conducts NHK Symphony Orchestra (Wikipedia)



On October 5th, 1926, Japan's first professional orchestra came into being – the New Symphony Orchestra, the predecessor of the present NHK Symphony Orchestra. After being briefly called the Japan Symphony Orchestra, it was renamed the NHK Symphony Orchestra when it began to receive full financial support from NHK Nippon Hoso Kyokai (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) in 1951.

Throughout its more than 80-year history, the Orchestra has continually invited many of the world's most renowned conductors, including Josef Rosenstock, Herbert von Karajan, Ernest Ansermet, Joseph Keilberth, Lovro von Matacic and Ferdinand Leitner, to name but a few, to raise its artistic and technical standard to a level which now makes it one of the top orchestras in Japan, all the while working with some of the world's most celebrated soloists to offer the public innumerable outstanding performances which have become entrenched as part of Japan's history of classical music.

The NHK Symphony Orchestra has won acclaim worldwide for its 29 overseas concert tours which began in 1960, its presentation of commissioned premiere works of world famous composers, as well as for its audio recordings which have been released by some of the world's most respected music labels.


響 This kanji (kyō) is a difficult one. Any ideas where it may have originated? ＮＨＫ交響楽団 (NHK kōkyō gakudan) means NHK Symphony Orchestra. At the bottom is the same radical as for "music" which of course is 音楽 (ongaku). But the 響 (kyō) also has the meaning of "echo" (hibiki) or sound, reverberation, even noise. The verb is 響く (hibiku) to "resound." 交響曲 (kōkyō kyoku) is the general term for a classical symphony. Tangorin has more

Comments

Pandabonium said…
I've always enjoyed playing works by Sibelius. Moving stuff. (and he wrote good parts for the trombone section ;^) )
4:03 pm, May 05, 2010
Martin J Frid said…
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I think "moving stuff" sounds up Jean Sibelius rather well. I'm glad you had the opportunity to actually play his music!
11:39 pm, May 08, 2010
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War

Image
A unique three-day international conference is being held at Makuhari near Tokyo, a day after the 61st anniversary of the enforcement of Japan's Constitution. It is organized by nongovernmental groups, including Japan-based Peace Boat . Organizers said the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the significance of the constitutional article that endorses demilitarization and what people can do to promote its spirit, notes The Japan Times . While the constitution stipulates that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and that it will not maintain land, sea and air forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been keen to make amendments. "The war in Iraq has shown that even the strongest, biggest army in the world can not keep peace in a single city. It proves that aggression never instates peace," Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of Peace Boat and a representative of the event's organizing committee, said during the opening remarks. "Article 9 is a treasu...
Read more

マーティンの鵜の目鷹の目 -世界の消費者運動の旅から

Image
  My new book has been published! マーティン・フリッド (著)   世界中の消費者が同じ課題を抱え、悩み、たたかっている。スウェーデンに生まれ、ヨーロッパ、そして日本の消費者運動の現場を歩いてきた著者が、人びとの日常によりそいながら軽妙なユーモアを交えて食、環境、エネルギー、社会のあり方、政治、経済を考えます。   https://nishoren.net/new-information/14177 Consumers all over the world are facing similar problems, worries, and struggles. In this book, the author, who was born in Sweden and has walked the frontlines of consumer movements in Europe ...
Read more

Salvador Dali, Hiroshima and Okinawa

Image
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was deeply terrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and his exact, detailed style was very much suited to show the horror of the A-bomb, which America tried to keep a secret by classifying photos and descriptions until the end of the occupation of Japan in 1952. The Bureau of Atomic Tourism has more details if you want to know more about the legacy of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Even today, do people understand the real horror of atomic bombs? If not, then, why not ? Dali's paintings are on display in Fukushima prefecture, where you can view Melancholy Atomic and Uranium Idyll and The Three Sphinxes of Bikini at the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art . Long YouTube video from the Nihon University (Nichidai) channel with an interview featuring Morohashi Eiji, the son of the founder of the unique museum, and scenes from the Morohashi Museum (29:20): #271美術館への誘い ダリの世界 Is there a hidden message in Dali's Bikini hydrogen bomb painting...
Read more