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 ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, 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 music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

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

Tokyo Music School or is a school of art and music in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter- ...

and the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

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

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra The (TSO) is a Japanese orchestra, administratively based in Kawasaki. The orchestra offers subscription concert series at its home, the Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall and at Suntory Hall, the Concert Hall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, ...

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 2024, 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 Wata ...

and continued as its resident conductor until 1968. In 1970, he became music director of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, and remained so until 1972. From 1972 to 1978, he was the music director of the

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra The (also known as Tokyō (都響)) is a Japanese orchestra based in Tokyo. Their offices are based at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, a concert venue owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The orchestra performs regularly at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Su ...

. 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) *Nao ...

, and remained there until 1990. He was also a professor of conducting at the

Tokyo University of the Arts or is a school of art and music in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter ...

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 Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

sound with the Japan Philharmonic 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 dealing with audio equipment. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo (not to be confused with the other Onkyo) and others in 1939. It originally started as Nippon Chikuonki Shoukai in 1910 by Freder ...

. 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 Japanese conductors (music) 20th-century Japanese male musicians Japanese classical musicians Japanese male conductors (music) Japanese people of Finnish descent Musicians from Tokyo