Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 - R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190 (Live) Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Seiji Ozawa

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67:
• 1 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio (Live) 07:22
• 2 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: II. Andante con moto (Live) 09:58
• 3 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: III. Allegro (Live) 05:21
• 4 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: IV. Allegro (Live) 08:10
• Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949): Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190:
• 5 Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190: I. Der Held (Live) 04:20
• 6 Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190: II. Des Helden Widersacher (Live) 03:29
• 7 Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190: III. Des Helden Gefährtin (Live) 12:02
• 8 Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190: IV. Des Helden Walstatt (Live) 07:04
• 9 Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190: V. Des Helden Friedenswerke (Live) 06:38
• 10 Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190: VI. Des Helden Weltflucht und Vollendung (Live) 11:32
• Total Runtime 01:15:56

Info zu Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 - R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190 (Live)

Nur zwei Mal hat der japanische Dirigent Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024) das Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Münchner Konzerten geleitet - doch beide Male wurde nichts weniger als Musikgeschichte geschrieben! Im Juli 1983 dirigierte Ozawa im Herkulessaal der Münchner Residenz Strawinskys Le sacre du printemps und Beethovens Egmont-Ouvertüre sowie dessen Erstes Klavierkonzert mit Martha Argerich als Solistin. Und im Januar 1990 präsentierte er sich mit dem hier vorgelegten Programm - mit beispiellos beeindruckenden Interpretationen von Beethovens Fünfter Symphonie und Strauss’ Tondichtung Ein Heldenleben.

In Beethovens fünfter Symphonie bestaunte bereits der erste Rezensent E. T. A. Hoffmann das in jener Musik zum Ausdruck gebrachte dramatische Ringen des Menschen "durch Nacht zum Licht", das auf rein musikalische Weise gestaltet ist, in struktureller Dichte und äußerster Stringenz. Erst in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts wurde das Werk dann zur "Schicksalssymphonie", im Sinne jenes heroischen Bildes des Menschen und Künstlers Ludwig van Beethoven, das sich mittlerweile eingebürgert hatte. Demnach sollte die Symphonie das Leiden und Überwinden des titanisch mit dem Schicksal ringenden Beethoven, insbesondere mit dem persönlichen Schicksal seiner Ertaubung behandeln. Eine romantische Anschauung vom Künstler als leidendem Außenseiter wurde nachträglich dem Leben und Werk Beethovens aufgepfropft, vor allem seiner fünften Symphonie. Um das Leben eines Helden geht es auch in Richard Strauss’ Tondichtung, die entstand, als er das Amt des Berliner Hofkapellmeisters antrat. Auch mit diesem Werk wollte er (wie etliche seiner Zeitgenossen) an Beethoven oder die von jenem geschaffene musikalische Ausdruckskraft anknüpfen - mit den Mitteln seiner Zeit. Die Tondichtung Ein Heldenleben, die ihre Uraufführung am 3. März 1899 in Frankfurt am Main erlebte, ließe sich einem Brief Strauss’ zufolge als moderne Variante der Eroica deuten, die auch formal auf die klassische Sonatenhauptsatzform zurückgreift. In der Partitur fehlen die programmatischen Erläuterungen/ die Überschriften der sechs Abschnitte wurden erst unmittelbar vor der Uraufführung formuliert - vermutlich nicht einmal von Strauss. Trotzdem machte man dem Komponisten, den man als Personalunion seines "Helden" sah, den Vorwurf tönender Selbstdarstellung.

Beethovens beeindruckende fünfte Symphonie und Strauss’ Tondichtung "Ein Heldenleben" in reifen und überzeugenden Interpretationen

Mitschnitt von Konzerten vom 17. und 18. Januar 1990 aus dem Münchner Herkulessaal der Residenz

Ein weiteres Beispiel für die organische Zusammenarbeit von Seiji Ozawa mit dem Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Seiji Ozawa, Dirigent

Seiji Ozawa
Born September 1, 1935 in Shenyang, China. Seiji Ozawa studied piano from a young age, and after graduating from Seijo Junior High School, went on to study conducting under Hideo Saito at the Toho School of Music.

In 1959, he won first prize at the International Competition for Young Conductors held in Besançon, France, and was invited the next summer to Tanglewood by Charles Munch, who was a judge at the competition and music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the time. He later studied under Karajan and Bernstein and went on to serve as assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Ravinia Festival, music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and music director of the San Francisco Symphony. In 1973, he became the 13th music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where his tenure of 29 years was one of the longest in the history of American orchestras.

As music director of BSO, he built the orchestra’s reputation internationally, with successful concerts in Europe in 1976 and Japan in 1978. In 1981, BSO toured 14 cities in America to commemorate its centennial and then executed a worldwide tour in the same year, with stops in Japan, France, Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom. It went on to perform in Europe in 1984, 1988, and 1991, and Japan in 1986, 1989, 1994, and 1999, all to great acclaim. In 1978, Ozawa was officially invited by the Chinese government to work with the China Central Symphony Orchestra for a week. A year later in 1979, Ozawa brought the BSO to become the first American orchestra ever to visit China, facilitating significant cultural and musical exchanges. He went on to build a strong relationship with China.

He also took the San Francisco Symphony to Moscow (the USSR at the time) in 1973 to perform with Mstislav Rostropovich.

In autumn 2002, Ozawa became the first Asian music director at Wiener Staatsoper, a position he held until spring 2010. His reputation and popularity are enormous in the West, where he conducted many orchestras including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics. He also appeared in prominent opera houses such as L’Opéra in Paris, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Opera di Firenze, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 1983, Ozawa conducted the world premiere of Messiaen’s sole opera Saint François d’Assise at the designation of the composer himself at L’Opéra in Paris, which created a sensation.

In Japan, Ozawa organized memorial concerts in Tokyo and Osaka with Kazuyoshi Akiyama and other colleagues in 1984 to commemorate his mentor, Hideo Saito, on the tenth anniversary of his passing. This later evolved to the Saito Kinen Orchestra, touring Europe in 1987, 1989, and 1990, and in Europe and America in 1991, all to great accolades. These activities led to the inception of Ozawa’s artistic dream in 1992: the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto. Ozawa became director of this international music festival. SKO continued to tour, with overseas concerts in 1994, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2010, and 2011. In 2015, the festival entered a new stage to become the “Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.”

Ozawa was particularly focused on education. The Chamber Music Academy Okushiga evolved from the Saito Kinen chamber music study group sessions that started in 1996, and in 2011, became the non-profit organization Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy Okushiga to provide opportunities to outstanding students from countries in the Asian region. Ozawa also founded the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project in 2000 and the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Orchestra Project in 2009 with the support of the Rohm Music Foundation, working actively to cultivate young musicians through performance. In 2005, he established the Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland to educate European music students. Ozawa also worked closely with the Mito Chamber Orchestra since its founding in 1990, serving as general director of the orchestra as well as director general of Art Tower Mito from 2013. He was also involved in the founding of the New Japan Philharmonic and worked with them for many years.

Ozawa won many awards in Japan and abroad, including: the Asahi Prize (1985); an Honorary Doctorate from Harvard University (2000); the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class (2002); the Mainichi Art Award (2003); the Suntory Music Prize (2003); an Honorary Doctorate from the Sorbonne University of France (2004); Honorary Membership from the Wiener Staatsoper (2007); France’s Officier de la Légion d’Honneur (2008); Foreign Associated Member in the Académie des Beaux Arts de l’Institut de France (2008); the Order of Culture, which is the highest honor in Japan (2008); Giglio D’Oro by Premio Galileo 2000 Foundation of Italy (2008); the first Japanese national to be bestowed honorary membership to the Vienna Philharmonic (2010); the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association (2011); the Akeo Watanabe Foundation Music Award (2011); and the Kennedy Center Honors (2015). In 2016, the Ravel L’enfant et les sortilèges album conducted by Seiji Ozawa and performed by the Saito Kinen Orchestra that was recorded at the 2013 Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto won the 58th Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. In the same year, he was named Honorary Member by the Berlin Philharmonic and Honorary Citizen of Tokyo. In March 2022, he was chosen to be a member of the Japan Art Academy. He passed away in February 2024.

Booklet für Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 - R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190 (Live)