Masterpieces Performed by NHK Symphony Orchestra

Although Christoph Eschenbach belongs firmly in a line of distinguished conductors of the German tradition, he began his illustrious music career as a pianist. Since his focus moved to conducting in the 1970s, he has held the directorship of numerous renowned orchestras throughout the world and received the highest musical honors. He has also performed as a featured pianist with the NHKSO many times. As a conductor, this 2017 performance was the first collaboration with the NHKSO in thirty years. Eschenbach is a perfectionist, an exacting conductor who pays attention to the minutest of details to polish the sound for a consummate performance. Be amazed at the virtuosity of an orchestra that presents very different interpretations of symphonies by the same composer reflecting the zeitgeist and the style of the conductor.

This piece by Hector Berlioz, Harold en Italie (“Harold in Italy”), symphony, Op. 16, is his symphony with a viola solo. In this performance, the solo is played by Ryo Sasaki, principal violist for the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Berlioz saw great possibilities for individual instruments to express human feelings. He believed that he could create the dramatic operatic atmosphere by composing heart-rendering monologues for instruments without relying on opera singers. Be mesmerized by the drama produced by the no-holds-barred collaboration of Sokhiev, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Ryo Sasaki.

If Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 can be characterized as a musical portrayal of a person resolutely going forward overcoming difficulties with unwavering faith, then Blomstedt and the orchestra play as though the symphony was written about them, making this a very personal performance. You are sure to be moved by this performance recorded in September 2011, just 6 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake and touted as one of NHKSO's finest performances. While affected areas were still recovering 10 years after this disaster, Japan, along with the world was faced with another horror in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. Find comfort in Blomstedt and NHKSO's musical message that is just as relevant today during these trying times as it was 10 years ago.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major expresses the elation of a city dweller enjoying a day in the country in nature. Titled the "Pastorale, or Recollections of Country Life," the melody is a very familiar one. But this new interpretation of the "Pastorale" as conducted by Roger Norrington is full of surprises. The tempo is rapid and there is no use of vibrato by the stringed instruments. At first, the listeners are overwhelmed by the rapid change of musical scenes even before they are comfortably settled into the music, but as they gradually relax into the composition, they experience the feeling of release at the openness of the space depicted by the score. Although known for its sumptuous sound, here the NHK orchestra demonstrates a fresh new appeal through their rhythmically well-modulated performance in response to Norrington's baton. Bask in the feeling of being in the great outdoors while listening to "Pastorale" at a time when the pandemic has restricted outings of all kinds.

In the second episode, we present Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4., which Tchaikovsky himself referred as the best work he had done, with much satisfaction at the time of the completion of the work. The conductor is the Russian maestro Vladimir Fedoseyev.

In this episode, we present Brahms' Symphony No. 2, the beloved masterpiece imbued with a light, warm atmosphere and beautiful melodies. The conductor is Christoph Eschenbach, a maestro with long experience leading famous orchestras around the world. Please enjoy the wonderful synergy of the orchestra and the maestro, which will bring out the piece's power with amazing tension.

In this episode, we bring you some of the orchestra music from Der Ring des Nibelungen by Wilhelm Richard Wagner, which is often performed independently. The NHK Symphony Orchestra's chief conductor Paavo Jarvi took the baton. Paavo selected the music himself and performed it in a completely different order from the opera so the music could tell its story on its own. You will hear: The Valkyrie, Ride of the Valkyries, Siegfried, Forest Murmurs, Twilight of the Gods, Siegfried's Death and Funeral March, Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey, The Rhine Gold and Entrance of the Gods in Valhalla. You will know what Paavo was trying to achieve with the performance.

This masterpiece by the Finnish composer evokes the grandeur of Scandinavian landscapes. The orchestra's chief conductor Paavo Järvi conducted the performance. The Estonian-born Järvi has received the Sibelius Medal in recognition of his long dedication to the composer's works.