Mito Chamber Orchestra

The Mito Chamber Orchestra (MCO), ATM’s exclusive in-house orchestra, was established in 1990 concurrently with the opening of the cultural complex at the behest of ATM’s first Director General, the late Hidekazu Yoshida(1913-2012). The group’s general director and occasional conductor is the renowned Seiji Ozawa. The regular membership of the ensemble comprises 23 musicians ? 17 Japanese and 6 foreigners – who are active worldwide. Before each concert, MCO’s members gather from all around the world to the city of Mito to rehearse intensively.

A unique aspect of MCO is its ability to wear “two different faces” flexibly. The first is its nature as a conductor-less ensemble. Thanks to the repeated rehearsals made in a painstaking manner by the group’s member artists, each of whom has reached a sophisticated level of musical skill and musicality, MCO has developed a depth of mutual understanding that creates a sound which combines the meticulousness of a chamber group with the sense of scale of a larger orchestra. The fruits of their labors, carefully cultivated thus, are also expressed fully when the ensemble puts on its second face: its nature as a “conductor-led” ensemble. Even when they encounter differing styles of direction under individual guest conductors, the penetration of a shared musical language among the individual members allows them to immediately adapt smoothly and seamlessly to each conductor’s unique style of musicality, all the while maintaining the ensemble’s unique musical performance style.

Taking advantage of those two characteristics – wearing its “two faces” – MCO has presented quite a few notable concerts down the years. As a conductor-less ensemble, it has put on many conceptual programs. At the same time, its concerts led by conductors have also been highly rated: besides Seiji Ozawa, MCO has also welcomed Szymon Goldberg, Rudolf Barshai, Trevor Pinnock, Jean-Francois Paillard, Ton Kopman, Jun Maerkl, Hiro Wakasugi, Jun’ichi Hirokami, Heinz Holliger, and Kazushi Ono at the helm. Meanwhile, the group has also presented memorable concerts featuring such soloists as Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Andras Schiff (piano), Bruno Leonardo Gelber (piano), Takahiro Sonoda (piano), Doris Soffel (mezzo-soprano), Karl Leister (clarinet), Nathalie Stutzman (alto), Rainer Kussmaul (violin), Andreas Steier (harpsichord and fortepiano), and Yuri Bashmet(viola) among others. Occasionally, MCO has actively commissioned and debuted new works by Japanese composers, including Toshi Ichiyanagi (“Kisui-iki”), Hikaru Hayashi (“Hika,” winner of the 1995 Otaka Prize), and Yoshihisa Taira (“Saiun”), who just died in March 2005. So far the ensemble has produced 17 CDs – under the Sony Classical and Universal Music ? and 2 BD / DVD under the NHK-enterprises- each of which has garnered excellent reviews from fans and music critics alike.

MCO put on its first performance outside of Mito in 1996, with concerts held at various sites around Japan, including Suntory Hall in Tokyo and the Osaka Festival Hall. The group has also spread its wings to perform abroad, the first tour overseas having taken place in Europe in June 1998. At the time, MCO visited five cities, having received invitations to perform at the Vienna Art Week, the Ludwigsburg Castle Festival, and the Florentine May Music Festival, with additional concerts in Hamburg and Zurich. The European audiences were astounded at the excellence of the group, as attested by newspaper reviews. In March 2001, MCO returned to Europe for its second tour of that continent, this time performing in Milan, Vienna, Paris, and Munich. By this time, of course, the ensemble had already established a firm reputation in Europe, and the various audiences were highly appreciative again.

In June 2008, MCO run its third tour for Europe without a conductor. MCO received an invitation from Munich, Florence, and Madrid and the performances received the highest praise.