2018.01.19

Michi won the “Osaka Cultural Award 2017”

Maestro Michiyoshi Inoue received the prestigious “Osaka Cultural Award 2017”, the prize given to a person or group which contributed the most to the cultural and artistic development of Osaka over a last year (from 1st September 2016 to 31st August 2017)!

●Comment from the jury
Mr. Michiyoshi Inoue served as the Principal Conductor of the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra from April 2014 to March 2017. During his tenure, he pumped fresh blood into the orchestra proposing unique programs and made this orchestra’s brilliance widely known throughout the country thanks to his attractive originality and eminent conducting with both maturity and skill.
In particular, at the last concert with the orchestra as its Principal Conductor, Mr. Inoue captivated the audience with his touching interpretation that revealed the essence of Shostakovich’s music. This performance was highly appreciated as Mr. Inoue’s culmination of his tenure.
Also, Mr. Inoue was in charge of general direction, conducting and staging for Bernstein’s “Mass” (on July 14th and 15th at the Festival Hall, Osaka). These performances were to celebrate the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra’s 70th anniversary since its foundation. For this theater piece performed for the first time in twenty-three years in Japan, Mr. Inoue had a stroke of genius uniting about 200 artists (orchestra members, singers, choir members and dancers), to make it an especially successful event in music performance history.
Therefore, we, the jury of the Osaka Cultural Award, praise Mr. Inoue’s huge contribution to the cultural and musical development of the Osaka area, expecting his even greater success in the future.

About Osaka Cultural Award (in Japanese):
http://www.osaka-bunka.jp/
http://www.pref.osaka.lg.jp/hodo/index.php?site=fumin&pageId=29675