Emblazoned with a red "85th Birthday" banner across the top of the graphics, this live release is indeed cause for celebration. Seiji Ozawa has made a number of recordings in his old age with the Saito Kinen Orchestra that he founded, and the results have been impressive, but he will have a hard time outdoing this live performance. The Saito Kinen Orchestra is not a standing orchestra but a group that frequently turns over with new players, most of whom have a connection with Ozawa. The musicians are young, and Ozawa rides ...
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Emblazoned with a red "85th Birthday" banner across the top of the graphics, this live release is indeed cause for celebration. Seiji Ozawa has made a number of recordings in his old age with the Saito Kinen Orchestra that he founded, and the results have been impressive, but he will have a hard time outdoing this live performance. The Saito Kinen Orchestra is not a standing orchestra but a group that frequently turns over with new players, most of whom have a connection with Ozawa. The musicians are young, and Ozawa rides their energy, catching their excitement at being part of a great performance for perhaps the very first time. Ozawa's interpretation is impressive. He takes the music deliberately, revealing many small details and unusual relationships between sections of a movement; the scherzo is especially deftly handled in this regard. The subtle progression of the slow movement, less a funeral march than a death-haunted house, is also memorable. It all adds up to a performance that draws on a...
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