was a Japanese

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

conductor, known for his recordings of the works of

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...

. Watanabe was born in 1919 to a Japanese father and Finnish mother. He studied violin and conducted at the

Tokyo Music School or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

and the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York City, USA. His conducting premiere was with the

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra The or TSO, was established in 1946 as the Toho Symphony Orchestra (東宝交響楽団). It assumed its present name in 1951. Based in Kawasaki, the TSO performs in numerous concert halls and serves as pit orchestra for some productions at Ne ...

in 1945. He was music director of the

Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2005, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently a ...

from 1948 to 1954 . In 1956, Watanabe founded the

Japan Philharmonic Orchestra The (JPO) is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, with administrative offices in Suginami. History The orchestra was established on June 22, 1956, as the exclusive subsidiary orchestra under the Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. Akeo Watan ...

and continued as its resident conductor until 1968. In 1970, he became music director of the

Kyoto Symphony Orchestra Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, and remained so until 1972. From 1972 to 1978, he was the music director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. In 1978, he once again became resident conductor of the newly reformed

, with whom he stayed until 1983. In 1988, he became the music director of the

Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra The is an orchestra based in Hiroshima, Japan, founded in 1963. It is the only professional orchestra in Japan's Chūgoku region. Music Directors *Akeo Watanabe (1984–86) * Ken Takaseki (1986–90) *Yoshikazu Tanaka (1990–94) * Na ...

, and remained there until 1990. He was also a professor of conducting at the Tokyo University of the Arts from 1962 to 1967 . Watanabe was a regular guest conductor with orchestras in the United States and Europe . Watanabe made the first complete set of recordings of Sibelius' symphonies in stereophonic sound with the

Japan Philharmonic The (JPO) is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, with administrative offices in Suginami. History The orchestra was established on June 22, 1956, as the exclusive subsidiary orchestra under the Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. Akeo Watan ...

from 1960 to 1962 for the Nippon Columbia Company (these were released on Columbia's Epic label in the United States). He re-recorded the Sibelius symphony cycle in digital sound with the same orchestra in 1981 for

Denon is a Japanese electronics company started in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur. Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon was involved in the early stages of de ...

. Watanabe died in 1990.

records note that he remained as music director of the orchestra, which he founded, until his death.

References

*
Tokyo Metropolitan symphony orchestra, The memory of Akeo Watanabe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Akeo 1919 births 1990 deaths 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Japanese musicians Japanese classical musicians Japanese conductors (music) Japanese people of Finnish descent Musicians from Tokyo