Conductors - About TMSO

Ono Kazushi

Music Director

Kazushi ONO

Kazushi Ono is the definitive musical citizen of the world, having been born in Tokyo, studied in Munich and forged his early career in Zagreb, Karlsruhe and Tokyo. This variety of influences has shaped an inquiring and profound musical intellect and an ability to communicate meaning across languages and cultures, leading to longstanding relationships around the world. He currently serves as Music Director at Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, and Artistic Director of New National Theatre, Tokyo.

A favourite of orchestral players, Ono has lasting friendships with orchestras around the world. Since his first appointment at Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in 1992 he has held continuous positions, including at Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Karlsruhe Opera, La Monnaie, Opéra National de Lyon and Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. He also regularly guest conducts groups such as London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

Ono’s passion and curiosity for repertoire takes him in different directions – to the standard classics but also to new music. He often commissions works and has collaborated several times with Mark-Anthony Turnage, including on Silent Cities, Hibiki (which won a Royal Philharmonic Society award) and Time Flies, which was originally commissioned for the 2020 Tokyo Olympiad. Recent commissions at NNTT include Asters by Akira Nishimura and Dai Fujikura’s A Dream of Armageddon. His programming there also includes Baroque, 20th-century and bel canto masterpieces.

He is also pushing the boundaries of programming through his relationship with Brussels Philharmonic, exploring innovations in concert formats and experiences: a recent all-Strauss programme offered lighting and soundscapes alongside poems and haikus between the musical works.

In Europe he conducted the world premieres of Toshio Hosokawa’s Hanjyo in Aix-en-Provence, Arnulf Hermann’s Der Mieter at Oper Frankfurt and Kaija Saariaho’s Emilie at Opéra de Lyon, as well as new productions of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole and L’Enfant et les sortilèges at Glyndebourne and Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au Bûcher at Opéra de Lyon. He has worked closely with boundary-breaking directors such as Dmitri Tcherniakov, Romeo Castellucci, Pierre Audi, William Kentridge and Mariusz Treliński.

Ono is a vocal advocate for the role of culture in all our lives. During his time in Lyon he took part in a programme bringing opera to prisons and at TMSO he leads the inclusive SaLaD Music Festival, as well as working with community organisations for people with disabilities. In his role in Brussels he takes part in an integration scheme for refugees. During the initial stages of the pandemic, he led ground-breaking research into the transmission of particles and the use of ventilation that meant that orchestras could get back to playing for audiences safely.

Ono trained in Europe under Wolfgang Sawallisch and came to public attention winning first prize in the 1987 Toscanini Competition. In 2017 he was awarded ‘Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ by French cultural minister Françoise Nyssen, adding to the prestigious Asahi Prize in January 2015, for his contribution to the development and progress of Japanese society.

https://www.kazushiono.com/

Alan Gilbert

Principal Guest Conductor

Alan GILBERT

Alan Gilbert is Principal Guest Conductor of TMSO, Conductor Laureate of Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at Juilliard School. He will be inaugurated as Principal Conductor of NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in September 2019.
Gilbert was Music Director of New York Philharmonic between 2009 and 2017. He makes regular guest appearances with orchestras including Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre de Paris, Cleveland Orchestra, and Boston Symphony. He has appeared at Metropolitan Opera, Oper Zürich, and Royal Swedish Opera, among others.

http://www.alangilbert.com/en-us/

Koizumi Kazuhiro

Honorary Conductor for Life

Kazuhiro KOIZUMI

Kazuhiro Koizumi studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and at Universität der Künste Berlin. After winning the 1st prize at Karajan International Conducting Competition in 1973, he has appeared with Berliner Philharmoniker and Wiener Philharmoniker, among others. Currently, he serves as Honorary Conductor for Life of TMSO, Music Director of Kyushu Symphony, Music Director of Nagoya Philharmonic, and Special Guest Conductor of Kanagawa Philharmonic.

Eliahu Inbal

Conductor Laureate

Eliahu INBAL

Eliahu Inbal was born in Jerusalem in 1936. He held numerous chief posts with orchestras such as Frankfurt Radio Symphony (hr-Sinfonieorchester), Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Teatro la Fenice di Venezia, and Czech Philharmonic. He was appointed Conductor Laureate of Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 2014. Many CDs of live performances by Inbal and TMSO are winning great acclaim. He was decorated by French and German Government, and by the cities of Frankfurt and Wien.

Main conductors of TMSO

Heinz HOFMANN
Heinz HOFMANN
Permanent Conductor 1965.4-67.3
OMACHI Yoichiro
Yoichiro OMACHI
Associate Conductor 1965.4-67.3
MORI Tadashi
Tadashi MORI
Music Director & Permanent Conductor 1967.4-72.3
WATANABE Akeo
Akeo WATANABE
Music Director & Permanent Conductor 1972.4-78.3 / Honorary Conductor 1978.12-1990.6
Moshe ATZMON
Moshe ATZMON
Music Adviser & Principal Conductor 1978.4-83.3
KOBAYASHI Ken-ichiro
Ken-ichiro KOBAYASHI
Resident Conductor 1978.4-83.3
Zdĕnek KOŠLER
Zdĕnek KOŠLER
Principal Guest Conductor 1978.4-83.3 / Regular Guest Conductor 1983.4-86.3
Peter MAAG
Peter MAAG
Regular Guest Conductor 1983.4-86.3
Jean FOURNET
Jean FOURNET
Regular Guest Conductor 1983.4-86.3 / Honorary Conductor 1989.12-2008.10 / Permanent Honorary Conductor 2008.11-
WAKASUGI Hiroshi
Hiroshi WAKASUGI
Music Director 1986.4-95.3 / Principal Conductor 1987.4-95.3
KOIZUMI Kazuhiro
Kazuhiro KOIZUMI
Conductor 1986.4-90.3 / Principal Conductor 1995.4-98.3 / Principal Guest Conductor 1998.4-2008.3 / Resident Conductor 2008.4-2014.3 / Honorary Conductor for Life 2014.4-
ONO Kazushi
Kazushi ONO
Conductor 1990.4-92.3 / Music Director 2015.4-
Eliahu INBAL
Eliahu INBAL
Special Guest Conductor 1995.4-2000.3 / Principal Conductor 2008.4-2014.3 / Conductor Laureate 2014.4-
Gary BERTINI
Gary BERTINI
Music Director 1998.4-2005.3 / Conductor Laureate 2005.4-
James DePREIST
James DePREIST
Permanent Conductor 2005.4-2008.3
Jakub HRŮŠA
Jakub HRŮŠA
Principal Guest Conductor 2010.4-2018.3
Alan Gilbert
Alan GILBERT
Principal Guest Conductor 2018.4-