Kazushi Ono
© Rikimaru Hotta
meticulous command
Conductor
Music Director, Brussels Philharmonic
Music Director, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Artistic Director, New National Theatre, Tokyo
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‘The crystalline clarity he brought to the most complex textures, meticulous highlighting of each important line, and his command of the overall architecture contributed to making this a rewarding experience’
Bachtrack
Kazushi Ono’s musical personality was formed by the cultures of Japan, where he was born, and Europe, where he studied. His work reflects both influences, and crosses styles and forms, from Baroque to new commissions and from orchestral to opera. His passion, musical intellect and ability to communicate meaning across languages and cultures have led to longstanding relationships around the world. He is Music Director of Brussels Philharmonic and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Appointed as Artistic Director of Opera at New National Theatre Tokyo in 2018, he recently renewed until 2029–30, making his tenure the longest in the theatre’s history.
Ono’s wide-ranging experience of Slavic, Latin and Germanic cultures has shaped a profound musical understanding. He inherited the German tradition from his mentor Wolfgang Sawallisch and has conducted almost all the Wagner repertoire and developed his insight into bel canto from his studies with Giuseppe Patané.
He often commissions composers and has collaborated several times with Mark-Anthony Turnage, including on Silent Cities and Hibiki. He has also conducted works by Toshio Hosokawa, George Benjamin, Martin Matalon and Tōru Takemitsu, and among many opera world premieres, Hosokawa’s Hanjo, Arnulf Hermann’s Der Mieter and, most recently, La Monnaie’s premiere of Bernard Foccroulle’s Cassandra.
‘My ideal orchestral sound is one that grows upwards, like a great cathedral. To create this sort of dimensional sound, you need a steady foundation, beautifully constructed walls and many sonorities in between’
Kazushi Ono
