Ohzawa's Paris concert in 1935, where he conducted his own works, was the first instance of a Japanese composer performing his own compositions with an orchestra in Paris.
Performer Biography
Ekaterina Saranceva, the pianist on this recording, won the Grand Prix at the 1984 Montreal International Piano Competition and the International Competition of radio recordings in Bratislava.
Critical Reception
Ohzawa's works were not well-received in Japan after his return in 1936, as they were considered too technically and conceptually difficult for Japanese audiences and orchestras of the time.
Composer Biography
After World War II, Ohzawa became a prolific conductor, composer, and arranger for big band jazz and light music, utilizing his studies in the United States.
Composer Biography
Hisato Ohzawa, a Japanese composer, was born into an affluent family in Kobe and received early musical training through hymns, organ, and piano lessons from his mother.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ohzawa's compositions from his Boston period are modernistic, interweaving elements like Ravel's neo-classicism, Schoenberg's expressionism, Milhaud's polytonality, Prokofiev's toccata-like music, jazz, and Japanese pentatonic scales.
Composer Biography
Ohzawa studied at Boston University and New England Music School, becoming a pupil of Frederic Converse and having contact with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he occasionally conducted.
