The 2024 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival ran for 27 days from Aug. 9 to Sep. 4, featuring 11 performances across 8 programs. The festival concluded on Sep. 4 with the “Concert for Children” held at Kissei Bunka Hall, bringing this year’s celebration of music to a close.
The festival opened with the "OMF Chamber Music Masterclass –Woodwind Ensemble–," followed by a series of orchestral concerts conducted by Maestra Nodoka Okisawa (OMF Principal Guest Conductor), Maestro Tatsuya Shimono, and Maestro Radek Baborák, where the Saito Kinen Orchestra (SKO), celebrating its 40th anniversary, showcased its remarkable talent. The festival also featured three "Chamber Concerts" with exquisite performances by SKO members and other distinguished musicians, and the OMF Opera, where Maestro Toshiaki Murakami and SKO coaches expertly led the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Orchestra alongside outstanding singers. This year’s festival, dedicated "all performances in honor of the festival's Founder and Director, Seiji Ozawa," welcomed approximately 13,500 guests to concerts.
The traditional Welcome Parade and Joint Performance, a highlight of the festival since its inception in 1992, featured 46 groups and around 1,800 performers this year. The festival also continued its educational outreach with "Opera for Children," conducted by Maestro Toshiaki Murakami, and the "Concert for Children," conducted by Maestro Carl St. Clair, which provided over 10,000 students, including sixth graders and first-year junior high school students from Nagano Prefecture, with the opportunity to experience the joy of music.
To celebrate Director Seiji Ozawa's achievements, a series of commemorative events, including “A Tribute to Director Seiji Ozawa: Celebration of Seiji's Life,” were held. On September 1, the special event "Seiji Ozawa Day" brought together performances by the Festival Band, citizen choirs (both adult and children's), and the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Orchestra, with a total of about 500 performers. The celebration culminated in a spectacular display of 280 fireworks to honor the Director's birthday. The festival also included special exhibitions at the Matsumoto City Museum and the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, as well as memorial flags, message boards throughout the city, and special lighting at various venues, creating an entire city celebration of Ozawa's contributions to "Matsumoto—City of Music" over the past 30 years.
We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to celebrate Director Seiji Ozawa's life and share the music that embodies his spirit with so many of you. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the volunteer staff, sponsors, and everyone who supported the festival.
We look forward to welcoming you again next year!
The 2025 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival is scheduled to take place from Aug. 10 to Sep. 9. OMF Principal Guest Conductor Nodoka Okisawa will take on Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The production will be directed by the renowned Laurent Pelly, who has previously directed acclaimed works such as "The Cunning Little Vixen" (2008), "L’enfant et les sortilèges / L’heure espagnole" (2013), and "Le nozze di Figaro" (2022). This upcoming opera marks the highly anticipated reunion of Nodoka Okisawa and Laurent Pelly after their celebrated collaboration on "Le nozze di Figaro". Joined by the Saito Kinen Orchestra, this first opera production in three years promises to be a performance not to be missed.
Additionally, the festival will feature a diverse array of programs, including orchestra concerts, chamber concerts, "Opera for Children," "Concert for Children," and OMF Chamber Music Masterclass. Details on the performance schedule and programs will be announced at a later date. Please look forward to 2025OMF!
February 2025: Saito Kinen Orchestra Brass Ensemble to Launch Third Nationwide Tour After Six Years!
