CCMusic.com

Long-awaited DVD/Blu ray release featuring Seiji Ozawa and special guest Martha Argerich! •Seiji Ozawa is not only one of Japan's best known conductors but also the founder of the Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, better known as the Seiji Ozawa Festival. •Seiji Ozawa himself appeared with 63 Saito Kinen Orchestra members, passionately conducting Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 and No. 7: Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36 Live from the Kissei Bunka Hall, iMatsumoto, Japan, August 2015, directed by Mari Inamasu, Yo Asari Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 Live from the Kissei Bunka Hall, iMatsumoto, Japan, August 2016, directed by Mari Inamasu, Yo Asari •Special feature: On the occasion of maestro Ozawa's 81st birthday, Martha Argerich joined the orchestra to perform Beethoven's Choral Fantasy op. 80, plus a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' - a deeply emotional moment! The Saito Kinen Orchestra members first came together in 1984, when Seiji Ozawa and Kazuyoshi Akiyama organized a special concert series to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hideo Saito's death. Mentor to both of these well-known conductors, Professor Saito is best remembered as co-founder of the Toho Gakuen School, one of Japan's leading music institutions. Every summer the Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa gathers a number of great musicians in Matsumoto, Japan, to celebrate music. Renowned for his encouragement of young musicians, he founded the Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto in 1992. As of 2015 it is better known as the Seiji Ozawa Festival. 1 Opening 00:00:0000:01:4600:01:46 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36 2 Adagio molto - Allegro con brio 00:01:4600:15:1500:13:29 3 Larghetto 00:15:1500:27:0100:11:46 4 Scherzo (Allegro)00:27:0100:31:0600:04:05 5 Allegro molto 00:31:0600:37:4500:06:39 6 Applause00:37:4500:39:1700:01:32 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 7 Opening 00:39:1700:40:4300:01:26 8 Poco sostenuto - Vivace 00:40:4300:56:1200:15:29 9 Allegretto 00:56:1201:05:2000:09:08 10 Presto - Assai meno presto 01:05:2001:12:5000:07:30 11 Allegro con brio 01:12:5001:20:0500:07:15 12 Applause & End Credits 01:20:0501:22:5300:02:48 EXTRA: LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Choral Fantasy in C minor, Op.8024 mins Saito Kinen Orchestra Conductor: Seiji Ozawa Piano: Martha Argerich Soprano: Lydia Teuscher, Rie Miyake Alto: Nathalie Stutzmann Tenor: Kei Fukui, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt Baritone: Matthias Goerne Chorus: OMF Chorus