Saturday, November 8, 2025
8:00 PM
Japanese conductor Nodoka Okisawa, a protégée of former BSO Music Director Seiji Ozawa, makes her BSO debut with Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony and Takemitsu’s Requiem for strings, a work Stravinsky hailed as a masterpiece. The Ozawa tribute continues with Midori, a longtime Ozawa collaborator, as soloist in Dvořák’s Violin Concerto.
Nodoka Okisawa, conductor
Midori, violin
Tōru TAKEMITSU Requiem for strings
Antonín DVOŘÁK Violin Concerto
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
Learn about Seiji Ozawa's history and incredible legacy with the BSO.
See the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2025-2026 season on their site.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT (lightly edited for clarity):
Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Nodoka Okisawa, who's here with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the very first time. Ms. Okisawa, thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate it.
Nodoka Okisawa Thank you so much for having me here. I'm so happy to be here.
Brian McCreath I want to ask you about the individual pieces on the program, but also a little bit more about your broader life as a conductor. So, tell me about Toru Takamitsu's Requiem and why that was the choice that you wanted for the beginning of this concert.
Nodoka Okisawa So this very piece was the one Seiji Ozawa conducted for the very first time with BSO. So, I thought it's special because, just like all the Asian musicians, I was greatly influenced by Maestro Seiji Ozawa, and this strong connection with him and also he and the BSO. I thought it's a good idea to bring it as the opening piece.
Brian McCreath And tell me about the piece itself. Is it one that you've known for a long time and have conducted before? And what is it that gives it the sort of emotional power that it has?
Nodoka Okisawa This piece, I studied for a competition, but this is my first time performing in a concert. And most string players and conductors learn this piece, as Toru Takemitsu opened the musical world to us. And it's such a special and important piece. When he composed this Requiem, he was still young but sick, he had a quite severe case of tuberculosis, and his mentor passed away due to the same sickness. And so, he felt the death very close to him. So, this piece has that kind of tension. But at the same time, he said that this piece was quite emotional to him, and also personal. And as I listened to some recordings of Seiji Ozawa with Toru Takemitsu at the recording, and I talked to some of the musicians in the orchestra who worked closely with them. He said it was really romantic. So when we imagine a Requiem, it's religious, but not the case with Toru Takemitsu. And I told the orchestra to play it individually, personally, and they sounded wonderful. And I instantly felt the connection of Seiji Ozawa, even though there are not so many musicians [in the orchestra now] who played with him. But we have this history and some kind of DNA in the orchestra, and I really enjoy it.
Brian McCreath Tell me about the other works on the program. Dvořák's Seventh Symphony. Is that a piece that you decided to do after it was decided to the Violin Concerto with Midori? And what are the challenges of the Seventh Symphony that are separate from the challenges of other Dvořák symphonies?
Nodoka Okisawa So, the orchestra already decided to have these late symphonies of Dvořák series. So, I started with the Seventh Symphony. And the difficulty of performing this is to find the right color in the beginning and throughout the piece. We need the intensity and thickness in the beginning, for example, with lower horns and timpani and contrabass. It's not only dark but there is some kind of tragic feeling in it and also fighting, because in Dvořák's time, there was a fever of patriotism. And Dvořák saw these men coming to the station and he was inspired. And this beginning, very special beginning of the symphony, you already feel that kind of darkness, but with a passion in it. And I'm trying to get that kind of atmosphere right from the beginning. But toward the end of the Finale, it's amazing because he wrote an extra huge cadence for the whole orchestra. And it's a so-called Picardy cadence, and so the symphony ends in D major. And I find it gorgeous because we start with the Requiem in this program, and Takemitsu's Requiem doesn't end with the so- called "Amen," but if we continue listening to the whole program, we reach this gorgeous ending of D major.
Brian McCreath And the Picardy that you describe is the changing from minor to major at the very end.
Nodoka Okisawa Yes.
Brian McCreath And tell me about the Violin Concerto. It's such an unusual piece compared to other violin concertos. What challenges does that bring with it?
Nodoka Okisawa Dvořák's Violin Concerto should be performed more often, I'm really convinced, after working with Midori especially. It's difficult because each movement has really different characteristics. You need a deep meditation kind of mentality in the second movement and a farmer's dance kind of feeling for the finale. And to express both, it's not really easy to have both qualities. He was of course influenced by Brahms's Violin Concerto, and he asked advice from Joseph Joachim. But it took him two years to review the draft of Dvořák and he had to omit or change many things. So, sometimes I feel like Dvořák's original spirit is a little faded, and that it's a little difficult to put everything like... How do I say... In Japanese we say, "put life in the music." So, it's not always easy to bring the life again in this violin concerto. But with such a wonderful soloist like Midori, it's really exciting and it will be really thrilling.
Brian McCreath She did sound amazing in the rehearsal. Really, really amazing. I'm interested in hearing from you more about Seiji Ozawa and what he has meant in your life, your connection to him. Can you tell me the story of your connection him?
Nodoka Okisawa Yes. I've met him only once in 2022 in Matsumoto, where he founded his famous festival. Now it's called Seiji Ozawa Matsumota Festival. And I was performing [Mozart's] Le Nozze di Figaro [The Magic Flute]. And he came to the rehearsals and performances, and every time he saw me, he encouraged me with strong hands and eyes with lots of spirit. And at that time, he couldn't really talk much already, but I could feel a strong soul from him, and it was really touching. That summer he conducted his Saito Kinen Orchestra during the rehearsal of other conductors. He took some time, and he did a Mozart Divertimento, one of the slow movements, and he barely moved his hands but the sound was just magical, and many musicians in the orchestra were crying. And that day I thought, conducting is not really about moving hands, but to bring a special moment to each musician. And I felt that relationship. Everywhere I go where Seiji Ozawa used to work, I feel that everyone thinks it's "Our Seiji." So, in Boston, it's "Our Seji." In Matsumoto, it's "Our Seiji." And this is so, so, so sweet and unique, and so I was influenced not only as a conductor, but also as a person.
Brian McCreath That's lovely, that is so beautiful. Well, Nodoka Okisawa, it's so good to have you here. It's great to meet you. And I love hearing you work with the BSO. Thank you for your time today, I appreciate it.
Nodoka Okisawa Thank you so much for having me.