TadaakiOtaka
- Conductor
About Tadaaki
Music Director: Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra Permanent Conductor: NHK Symphony Conductor Laureate: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Japanese-born Tadaaki Otaka has been Music Director of Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra since April 2018 and, following a distinguished tenure as Principal Conductor of BBC National Orchestra of Wales, became their Conductor Laureate. This remarkable relationship with BBC NOW stretches back more than three decades and he has appeared with them each season since his debut. Long esteemed as one of Japan’s finest conductors, he also holds the titles of Permanent Conductor of the NHK Symphony, Conductor Laureate of Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Honorary Guest Conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and Honorary Conductor Laureate of Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra Tokyo. He has had a close association with Sapporo Symphony Orchestra for four decades, leading highly-successful European tours and establishing them internationally as one of Japan’s leading ensembles; and since 2015 has served as their Honorary Music Director. Between 2009 and 2012 he served as Principal Guest Conductor of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and was Artistic Director of the New National Theatre, Tokyo (2010 to 2014).
Mo. Otaka returns to Europe in April 2024 for performances with BBC NOW, featuring works by Elgar, Grace Williams and William Mathias.
He continues to conduct extensively in Japan and is also a highly regarded teacher of young conductors, holding posts as Honorary Professor of the Tokyo University of the Arts, Visiting Professor of the Soai University and the Kyoto City University of Arts and Guest Professor of the Kunitachi College of Music. He combines these activities with regular European visits and in the 2021/22 season will return to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ with performances of Mahler's Symphony No.5. Recent BBC NOW highlights include BBC Proms, and he also served on the juries of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London, the Malko Competition in Copenhagen and the 18th Tokyo International Music Competition for Conducting.
Contact
For availability and general enquiries:
Adam Brady
Representation
Worldwide General Management with Askonas Holt (excl. Japan)
Partner manager
Japan: Mr Saneyuki Yoshii
Season Highlights
Video
- Playing
Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1 / Akiko Suwanai & Tadaaki Otaka (2011)
Tadaaki Otaka leads the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra and soloist Akiko Suwanai in a performance of Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. Credit: Sapporo Symphony Orchestra
R. Strauss - Horn Concerto No.1 - Stefan Dohr - Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Tadaaki Otaka conducts R Strauss’ Horn Concerto No.1 with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra joined by soloist Stefan Dohr. 2017. Credit: Auckland Town Hall
Walton: Belshazzar's Feast (Praise ye...) - BBC Proms 2012
Tadaaki Otaka conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with BBC Symphony and BBCNOW Symphony Choruses at the BBC Proms 2012 Credit: BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, London Brass and the BBC Symphony Chorus
Rachmaninov - Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27 (1/5)
Tadaaki Otaka conducts Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 at the BBC Proms with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, 2006. Credit: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis - BBC Proms 2012
Tadaaki Otaka conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the BBC Proms in 2012 in Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Credit: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Photos
Press
BBC Proms: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Royal Albert HallJul 2023Otaka’s control of phrasing and dynamics reached its peak in the second movement, deliciously clipped and poised. As for rhythmic punch, the first movement’s onslaught, powerful enough, was easily outdone by the finale’s blaze of light and positivity. Glorious.
- The Times
- 20 July 2023
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
St David's Hall, CardiffMar 2023As special relationships go, that of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with the Japanese conductor Tadaaki Otaka is particularly special, forged during the years when he was principal conductor from 1987 to 1995. He subsequently became their conductor laureate and, whenever he returns, his ability to inspire these players to give their utmost is evident both from the lustrous sound and their total commitment.
- The Guardian
- 27 March 2023
BBC Proms 2019
Royal Albert HallAug 2019Takemitsu’s Twill by Twilight: Otaka’s elliptical gestures drew the ensemble together closely and sweetly, establishing a twinkling soundworld that linked Takemitsu to the sequinned hush of Huw Watkins’s The Moon, a setting of words by Shelley, Larkin and Whitman delivered with pristine diction by the BBC National Chorus of Wales...
- The Times
- 12 August 2019
Elgar’s Froissart & John Lill plays Tchaikovsky
Royal Philharmonic OrchestraJun 2017Otaka’s grasp of Elgar is total – which is saying something, for those who remember his fine accounts of the A-flat Symphony in particular – and his direction of Froissart (not one of Elgar’s flawless masterpieces) so captured the essence of this work that its qualities were clearly and cleverly brought out. Indeed, this was a performance of no little stature in which architecture and atmosphere were perfectly equated. In Otaka’s reading one remained astonished at the composer’s masterful command of the orchestra and of his control of a relatively lengthy time span – for, be it remembered, this was the entirely self-taught Elgar’s first orchestral work.
- Classical Source
- 06 June 2017
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé
BBC National Orchestra of WalesNov 2016Majesty and beauty in Daphnis et Chloé from Tadaaki Otaka and BBC NOW Tadaaki Otaka has a long working relationship with the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, where he is now Conductor Laureate, and his return visits to Cardiff are always warmly welcomed. He began this programme with a lush, big-band account of Mozart’s Idomeneo overture, with a larger component of strings than is fashionable these days, and full, resonant vibrato all round.
- Bachtrack
- 11 November 2016
Walton at the BBC Proms
BBC National Orchestra of WalesAug 2015The symphony is often cited as an example of how Walton’s music lost its freshness in the 1950s. However, it came over vividly in Otaka’s superbly played performance, which was less svelte and more irascible than some, with a real snap to the rhythms in the opening movement and plenty of weight behind the variations of the final passacaglia.
- The Guardian
- 06 August 2015
