Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Rie Miyake (soprano), Mihoko Fujimura (mezzo-soprano), Kei Fukui (tenor), Markus Eiche (baritone)
Tokyo Opera Singers, Mito Chamber Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
What emerges is a dignified, rather old-fashioned performance...It can be quite beautiful, expressively speaking, and technically the playing of the Mito Chamber Orchestra and the singing of...
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Rie Miyake (soprano), Mihoko Fujimura (mezzo-soprano), Kei Fukui (tenor), Markus Eiche (baritone)
Tokyo Opera Singers, Mito Chamber Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Purchase product
What emerges is a dignified, rather old-fashioned performance...It can be quite beautiful, expressively speaking, and technically the playing of the Mito Chamber Orchestra and the singing of...
About
“Ozawa may be entering a glorious Indian summer of creativity” Gramophone
45 years after his debut Philips recording of Beethoven’s 9th, Seiji Ozawa returns to this epic masterpiece
The Mito Chamber Orchestra features many international star players including Radek Baborák (horn), Ricardo Morales (clarinet) and Philippe Tondre (oboe). The German baritone Markus Eiche leads a quartet of leading Japanese soloists and the Tokyo Opera Singers in a fascinating performance on a chamber orchestra scale.
Contents and tracklist
- Markus Eiche (baritone), Rie Miyake (soprano), Mihoko Fujimura (mezzo-soprano), Kei Fukui (tenor)
- Mito Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Opera Singers
- Seiji Ozawa
- Recorded: 2017-10-15
- Recording Venue: Art Tower Mito, Mito City, Ibaraki
Awards and reviews
April 2019
What emerges is a dignified, rather old-fashioned performance...It can be quite beautiful, expressively speaking, and technically the playing of the Mito Chamber Orchestra and the singing of the choir and soloists are excellent – wonderful to hear such clear intonation in the final solo quartet. At times it’s surprising how much depth and richness of sound Seiji Ozawa gets from such relatively modest forces.
March 2019
Cast solidly in the mould of German-based interpretations of the post-war era, it enshrines pathos and distributes joy with all the ritual solemnity due to the daiku as a modern icon of Japanese culture.
1st February 2019
No surprises come from Ozawa’s treatment of Beethoven’s Symphony No 9…But there’s a fresh animating spirit here that still pushes this album ahead. Much of its punch and clarity comes from the compact size of the Mito Chamber Orchestra...The moment the symphony ends, cheers ring out from the live audience. You may well feel like joining in.
