Michiyoshi Inoue (Conductor)
Passionate about the arts from a
young age, Michiyoshi Inoue began piano lessons very early and studied ballet
for ten years before deciding, at the age of fifteen, to pursue a career as a
conductor. On entering the renowned Toho Gakuen School of Music, he studied
under the late Hideo Saito, one of the countryґs most prominent music scholars
and mentor to conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Hiroshi Wakasugi and Kazuyoshi
Akiyama.
Mr. Inoueґs professional career
began in 1970 when he was named Associate Conductor to the Tokyo Metropolitan
Symphony Orchestra. A year later, the critical acclaim following his first prize
at the Guido Cantelli Conducting Competition in Milan brought him to the
attention of the international music scene, and he has been a familiar face on
podiums all over the world ever since.
From 1977 to 1982 Michiyoshi
Inoue was Principal Guest Conductor with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. A
year after leaving New Zealand, he was appointed Music Director of Tokyoґs New
Japan Philharmonic, where he remained until 1988. It was during these years that
he made a name for himself within the genre of opera, his many successful
productions including the Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy as well as Pucciniґs Madame
Butterfly and Mascagniґs Iris. Michiyoshi Inoue was the Music Director of the
Kyoto Symphony Orchestra between 1990 and the spring of 1998, leading them in
May 1997 on a highly successful tour of Europe including much acclaimed
performances at the Prague Spring Festival.
Invited to conduct the most
prestigious orchestras all over the world, Mr Inoue has collaborated in Germany
with the orchestras of Berlin (RIAS), Hamburg (NDR), Stuttgart (SDR), Baden
Baden (SWDR), Cologne (Gьrzenich), and the Dresden Philharmonic. Elsewhere in
Europe, he has performed with ensembles including Orchestre National de France,
Opera de Marseille, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, National
Symphony Orchestra of Dublin, Royal Philharmonic Flanders Orchestra, La Scala
Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Gulbenkian (Portugal), Orquestra Sinfonica de
RTVE (Madrid), Leningrad Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra and the
Hungary State Symphony Orchestra.
His CD recordings of Mahlerґs
4th, 5th and 6th symphonies with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra received high
praise. At the head of the New Japan Philharmonic he has begun a series of
concerts entitled CONCERT OPERA, with productions including Mascagniґs
“Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavalloґs “Pagliacci” in September in 2000;
Korngoldґs “Die tote Stadt” in 2001, and with R. Straussґ “Ariadne auf Naxos” in
2002.
He has been conducting
Shostakovich Symphonies intensively in Russia, Rumania and Japan in 2006/07 and
2007/08 seasons, including the realisation of a complete Shostakovich Symphonic
Cycle in Tokyo from November to December in 2007 with five Russian and Japanese
orchestras including the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the New Japan
Philharmonic.
In January 2007, he was engaged as Artistic Adviser of Ishikawa
Ongakudo and as Music Director of Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, with which he
very successfully toured Europe in summer 2008.
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