[Featured Magazine] Kenichiro Kobayashi (Honorary Conductor Laureate) appears on the cover of the April issues of Sarasate and Ongaku no Tomo

Sarasate April 2021 Issue [Vol. 99] (Published March 2, 2021)

　This issue focuses on Kenichiro Kobayashi, one of the oldest active conductors, who turned 80 (kanju) in 2020.
　Starting in April, the "Tchaikovsky Complete Symphony Cycle," a concert celebrating his 80th birthday, will begin. Over the course of five performances through August, the orchestra will perform not only all of the symphonies, including "Manfred," but also Piano Concerto No. 1, Violin Concerto, String Serenade, and Overture "1812." This project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he has a strong bond as Honorary Conductor Laureate, having served as Chef des Garcons for many years.
　Originally planned for 2020, when Kobayashi would have turned 80, the concert was postponed and restarted due to the issuance of the first state of emergency declaration amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period of self-restraint due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kobayashi has once again confronted Tchaikovsky. He talks passionately about his determination to await the opening day of the concert, his past and future over the past 80 years, how he entered Tokyo University of the Arts with the aim of becoming a composer but found himself unable to adapt to avant-garde music and instead decided to become a conductor, his relationships with various orchestras in Japan, Hungary, and Eastern Europe, and his memories of his now-deceased great teachers.

Ongaku no Tomo April 2021 issue