The Seiji Ozawa Academy will perform three concerts in July: a free concert in Rolle on the 9th, and ticketed performances on the 11th in Geneva and the 12th in Martigny.
WORLD-RENOWNED orchestra and opera conductor Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024) was driven by a passion to share his knowledge and expertise with younger generations in light of the musical mentorship he benefitted from as a young artist in Japan.
In 2004 he launched the only project outside Japan for students from all over the world, the “Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland”, dedicated to string quartets and ensembles.
“I love working with young musicians… I don’t have to push them. We just have to find the same phrasing, the same breath…” Seiji Ozawa
For two weeks every summer, the Château de Rolle hosts some thirty young soloists from around the world. Under the tutelage of cellist Sadao Harada, violist Nobuko Imai, and violinist Pamela Frank – who have been with the Academy since its inception — as well as internationally renowned conductor Kazuki Yamada and former students Suyoen Kim and Julien Szulman, both violinists, the young musicians work intensively in chamber groups to develop listening and harmony.
By immersing themselves deeply in a very short repertoire, such as one or two movements of a quartet, they can change, note-by-note, the way a score is interpreted.
The musical fruit of their labours
This year, the Academy takes place from 2 to 13 July and three end-of-season concerts will give the public an opportunity to hear the fruits of participants’ labours.
The first concert takes place on 9 July at 19:30 in the courtyard of the Château de Rolle (or at Rolle’s Casino Théâtre in bad weather), when the ensemble under the direction of Kazuki Yamada will play:
· “Simple Symphony” by Benjamin Britten, and
· Movements from string quartets by Schubert, Beethoven, Bartok, Debussy, Schumann and Mendelssohn.
The second concert takes place at Geneva’s Victoria Hall on 11 July at 19:30, and the third at the Pierre Gianadda Foundation in Martigny at the same hour on 12 July.
The repertoire for the Geneva and Martigny concerts will be the same as for the Rolle concert but also feature “Requiem” by Toru Takemitsu.
Admission to the Rolle concert is free whereas tickets can be purchased for the Geneva and Martigny concerts. However, as part of the Academy’s extensive “social and educational mission”, all ticket sales are donated to the Fondation Partage, which fights against hunger and food waste in Geneva.
Public masterclasses and rehearsals
The public can also sit in on masterclasses from 4 to 10 July at Rolle’s Château every day from 2:30 pm as well as ensemble rehearsals from 6 to 10 July 2024 from 20:00 to 22:00 at the Château.
This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy high-calibre classical music as it’s being created by today’s best young talents and also, to participate in the crowning performance of another successful season of the Seiji Ozawa Academy.
Creative Living Geneva 