Announcement of the 29th (2021) Watanabe Akio Music Foundation Music Award and Special Award Winners
Announcement of the winners of the 29rd (2021) Akio Watanabe Music Foundation Music Award and Special Award
◆Music Award: Masato Suzuki (conductor) and Keitaro Harada (conductor)
◆Special Award: No winners
◆Music Award: Masato Suzuki (Conductor)
"Biography"
Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and its graduate school. Graduated from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Netherlands. Recipient of the 71st Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists, the 18th Saito Hideo Memorial Fund Award, and the 18th Hotel Okura Music Award. Principal Conductor of Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ), Conductor/Creative Partner of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director of Ensemble Genesis. In addition to performing with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra as a conductor, he produced and performed "The Coronation of Poppea" (2017) and "Rinaldo" (2020) as part of the BCJ Opera Series produced by Suzuki Masato. Regularly appears on NHK-FM's "The Joy of Early Music." Executive Producer of the Chofu International Music Festival.
- Visiting professor at Kyushu University.
Twitter / @eugenesuzuki
Facebook & Instagram / masatosuzukimusic
Reasons for award
Not only has Suzuki Masato achieved great success as a conductor, but he has also utilized his talents as a keyboardist, composer, director, and music festival producer, continuing to breathe new life into Japanese orchestras through his activities in a wide range of musical fields. He appeals strongly to musicians and audiences not only with his performance skills but also with the originality of his programs and planning skills. His conducting activities, which make the most of his versatility and musicality, add breadth and depth to the way orchestras and musicians live today. His diverse activities make him a worthy recipient of the Watanabe Akio Music Award, and he is a conductor whose activities are expected to continue to expand even further in the future.
◆Music Award: Keitaro Harada (Conductor)
"Biography"
A talented conductor, he continues to achieve remarkable success, primarily in Japan and the United States. After serving as associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Richmond Symphony Orchestra, he became music and artistic director of the Savannah Philharmonic in 2020. He has also performed in opera with orchestras in Arizona, North Carolina, Cincinnati, and the Bulgarian National Opera. He received the Seiji Ozawa Fellowship Award at the Tanglewood Music Festival in 2010, the B. Walter Conductor Preview Award in 2013, and the Solti Foundation USA Career Support Award in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, and 2021. He participated in the Castleton Festival at the invitation of L. Maazel in 2009. He participated in the PMF at the invitation of F. Luisi in 2011, and will be invited back in 2021. He will become the principal conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in April 2021.
Official website: kharada.com/ @Khconductor
Reasons for award
Keitaro Harada began his conducting career based in the United States. In recent years, he has made numerous guest appearances with orchestras across Japan, producing youthful, vibrant, and dynamic performances that have garnered rave reviews from musicians and audiences alike. The extraordinary energy of his performances has the power to captivate young audiences in particular, making him a particularly outstanding young conductor. Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he has continued his unique activities as a conductor, proactively engaging in online concerts and other activities, and is also actively working to pioneer the current state of the music world as a conductor. In addition to his high level of musicality, his vibrant communication skills as a conductor make him a truly worthy recipient of the Watanabe Akio Music Award.
List of Watanabe Akeo Music Fund Awardees
1st (1993) Music Award: Kazushi Ono Special Award: Sennosuke Enmei
2nd (1994) Music Award: Junichi Hirokami Special Award: Chiaki Murakawa
3rd (1995) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: Takashi Ogawa, Seizo Suzuki, Jun Tanaka
4th (1996) Music Award: Ken Takaseki Special Award: No recipient
5th (1997) Music Award: No winner Special Award: Keizo Saji
6th (1998) Music Award: Kim Hong-jae Special Award: Ishimaru Hiroshi
7th (1999) Music Award: Ryusuke Numajiri Special Award: Chiyoshige Matsubara
8th (2000) Music Award: Naoto Otomo Special Award: Minoru Nagaoka, Toshiya Eto
9th (2001) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: No recipients
10th (2002) Music Award: Tatsuya Shimono, Yukio Fujioka Special Award: Shoji Uehara
11th (2003) Music Award: Yutaka Sado Special Award: Masaharu Watanabe, Naozumi Yamamoto
12th (2004) Music Award: Tetsuro Saka Special Award: Akira Miyoshi
13th (2005) Music Award: Norichika Iimori Special Award: Tsuzo Kusakari
14th (2006) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Shigeto Kanayama, Hiroshi Okawauchi
15th (2007) Music Award: Toshiyuki Ueoka Special Award: Shoji Onodera, Japan Philharmonic Kyushu Performance Liaison Committee (Group)
16th (2008) Music Award: No winner Special Award: Hiroyuki Iwaki
17th (2009) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Jean Fournet, Affinis Cultural Foundation
18th (2010) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Hiroshi Wakasugi, Museum of Modern Japanese Music
19th (2011) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: Seiji Ozawa Special Support: Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra
20th (2012) Music Award: Kazuki Yamada Special Award: Yasuo Nakafuji
21st (2013) Music Award: No winner Special Award: Nagata Ho
22nd (2014) Music Award: No winner Special Award: Kodama Koji
23rd (2015) Music Award: Kentaro Kawase Special Award: Hubert Soudant, Kazuyoshi Akiyama
24th (2016) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: Alexander Lazarev, Shinichiro Ikebe, Michiyoshi Inoue
25th (2017) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Yuzo Toyama, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi
26th (2018) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: Eliahu Inbal
27th (2019) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Honna Tetsuji, Yamada Masayuki
28th (2020) Music Award: Nodoka Okisawa Special Award: Yasuhisa Toyoda
29th (2021) Music Award: Masato Suzuki and Keitaro Harada Special Award: No recipients
