AboutA historic and representative city of Japan, Mito played a great, important role in initiating the modern state of Japan. During the Edo Period (1603-1867), Mito served as the residence of several eminent men, including the last shogun, Tokugawa Keiki, whose abdication paved the way for the restoration of the emperor. Mito also is the location of one of Japan's three most famous gardens, the Kairakuen, and is blessed with many other historical sites, including the Kodokan school, Japan's largest feudal school in the Edo Period, which sent forth many leaders and intellectuals. Having inherited such a forward-looking spirit, Mito City celebrated the 100th anniversary of its establishment as a city in 1990 by constructing the Art Tower Mito (ATM), a cultural complex of buildings containing a concert hall, dramatic theater, and art gallery. The Mito Chamber Orchestra (MCO), ATM's exclusive in-house orchestra, was established in 1990 concurrently with the opening of the cultural complex at the behest of ATM's Chief Curator Hidekazu Yoshida. The group's musical adviser and occasional conductor is the renowned Seiji Ozawa. The regular membership of the ensemble comprises 29 musicians - 25 Japanese and four foreigners - who are active worldwide. MCO holds four regular concerts annually at the Concert Hall ATM, following four different basic formats: (1) concerts under the direction of the maestro Seiji Ozawa; (2) concerts under a guest conductor; (3) concerts with guest soloists; (4) concerts with only the ensemble members playing, i.e., without a conductor. Before each concert, MCO's members gather from all around the world to the city of Mito to rehearse intensively. As of June 2006, the ensemble had held 65 concerts. A unique aspect of MCO is its ability to wear "two different faces" flexibly. The first is its nature as a conductor-less ensemble. Thanks to the repeated rehearsals made in a painstaking manner by the group's member artists, each of whom has reached a sophisticated level of musical skill and musicality, MCO has developed a depth of mutual understanding that creates a sound which combines the meticulousness of a chamber group with the sense of scale of a larger orchestra. The fruits of their labors, carefully cultivated thus, are also expressed fully when the ensemble puts on its second face: its nature as a "conductor-led" ensemble. Even when they encounter differing styles of direction under individual guest conductors, the penetration of a shared musical language among the individual members allows them to immediately adapt smoothly and seamlessly to each conductor's unique style of musicality, all the while maintaining the ensemble's unique musical performance style. Taking advantage of those two characteristics - wearing its "two faces" - MCO has presented quite a few notable concerts down the years. As a conductor-less ensemble, it has put on many conceptual programs. At the same time, its concerts led by conductors have also been highly rated: besides Seiji Ozawa, MCO has also welcomed Szymon Goldberg, Rudolf Barshai, Trevor Pinnock, Jean-Francois Paillard, Ton Kopman, Jun Maerkl, Hiro Wakasugi and Jun'ichi Hirokami at the helm. Meanwhile, the group has also presented memorable concerts featuring such soloists as Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Andras Schiff (piano), Bruno Leonardo Gelber (piano), Takahiro Sonoda (piano), Doris Soffel (mezzo-soprano), Karl Leister (clarinet), Nathalie Stutzman (alto), Rainer Kussmaul (violin), and Andreas Steier (harpsichord and fortepiano), among others. Occasionally, MCO has actively commissioned and debuted new works by Japanese composers, including Toshi Ichiyanagi ("Kisui-iki"), Hikaru Hayashi ("Hika," winner of the 1995 Otaka Prize), and Yoshihisa Taira ("Saiun"), who just died in March 2005. So far the ensemble has produced five CDs - under the Sony Classical and Philips labels - each of which has garnered excellent reviews from fans and music critics alike. MCO put on its first performance outside of Mito in 1996, with concerts held at various sites around Japan, including Suntory Hall in Tokyo and the Osaka Festival Hall. The group has also spread its wings to perform abroad, the first tour overseas having taken place in Europe in June 1998. At the time, MCO visitede five cities, having received invitations to perform at the Vienna Art Week, the Ludwigsburg Castle Festival, and the Florentine May Music Festival, with additional concerts in Hamburg and Zurich. The European audiences were astounded at the excellence of the group, as attested by newspaper reviews. In March 2001, MCO returned to Europe for its second tour of that continent, this time performing in Milan, Vienna, Paris, and Munich. By this time, of course, the ensemble had already established a firm reputation in Europe, and the various audiences were highly appreciative again. |
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Mito Chamber Orchestra
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Mito Chamber Orchestra Newsletter |
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Mito Chamber Orchestra Discography (1title)
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