Biography
Renowned for his ‘extraordinary interpretations’ (La Nacion) and his ‘trademark good humour […] and great energy’ (BackTrack), Eiji Oue has conducted many of the world’s finest orchestras throughout his career, including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and the Munich Philharmonic. Oue is currently Conductor Laureate of both the Osaka Philharmonic, having served as its Music Director from 2003-2011, and the NDR Radio Philharmonic in Hanover, following an eleven-year tenure as Principal Conductor (1998-2009). He has also held the positions of Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra (1995-2002) and Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (2006-2010). As previous Music Director of Wyoming’s Grand Teton Music Festival (1997-2003), Oue was the driving force behind the founding of one of the festival’s most beloved events, its annual outdoor Fourth of July Community Concert.
Recent and forthcoming highlights include an extensive world tour celebrating the centenary of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra; tours to Japan and South America with the NDR Radio Philharmonic; a cycle of Leonard Bernstein and American repertoire with the Wroclaw Philharmonic; engagements at the renowned La Folle Journée festival in Warsaw, and with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Bern Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon, Orquesta de Valencia, Belgrade Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Sao Paolo Symphony, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, RTE National Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, and the Buenos Aires Philharmonic in Teatro Colón. In 2019-2020, he continues his regular work with the Osaka Philharmonic and conducts a new production of Orphée aux Enfers with the Nikikai Opera in Tokyo.
Reviews
“This was a performance of intense expressivity, yet also rigorous control.”
“The conductor, Eiji Oue, kept musical passions running high. […] This is the raciest Tristan I have heard – flexibly shaped without losing the music’s contour, ever-sensitive to voices, never hot-headed.”
More Reviews
“This was a performance of intense expressivity, yet also rigorous control.”
José Luis Vidal, El Mundo Cataluña
“Bubbling over with good humour and liveliness, the smiling presence of Oue from the podium immediately evoked a sunny mood for the opening allegro of Haydn’s “Miracle” Symphony. The NSO responded with great energy to the demonstrative conducting of Oue, whose diminutive frame darted about, eliciting a fresh, vibrant sound from the orchestra …”
“The still young Eiji Oue […] created an excellent sound and color from the orchestra, showing the originality of its conception of Mahler.”
“The conductor, Eiji Oue, kept musical passions running high. […] This is the raciest Tristan I have heard – flexibly shaped without losing the music’s contour, ever-sensitive to voices, never hot-headed.”
Financial Times, Andrew Clark
“The Japanese maestro conducted with powerful gestures, producing an extrovert and theatrical sound, realising the score with a concentrated dedication and achieving a proportionate success. The orchestra responded with enthusiasm and efficiency to the directions of an ecstatic Oue, who tastefully unveiled this musical fresco, without a score.”
Pablo Meléndez-Haddad, ABC Cataluña
“Japanese conductor Eiji Oue […] conducted the extensive and complex Mahlerian score from memory with grand yet supple gesturing, his interpretation reaching peaks of sovereign intensity.”
Antonio Iglesias, ABC Cataluña
“The big surprise however was not so much the twentieth century compositions, but the forceful, original and extraordinary interpretation Oue gave Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique. With great refinement and an unprecedented security, Eiji Oue raised this performance far beyond the mere routine. The man has ideas, worked them through well with the orchestra and the result was amazing. In some moments of lyricism, Oue was reminiscent of Celibidache and his obsession with slow tempi to heighten the intimacy of the music. He approached the threshold of sound with maximum clarity and moments of great power, and did not gloss over the details. Rarely has the Philharmonic sounded as vigorous and as accurate as in the third movement. The tremendous ovation that followed it was in no way down to an audience unaware of concert conventions, but a truly spontaneous response to the overwhelming power of the music which is rarely as well served as this.”
Pablo Kohan, La Nacion
Contact
Nicholas Mathias - General Management
[email protected]
+44 (0) 20 7957 5800
Joel Wilson - Managerial Associate
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 957 5888
Derek Chandruang - General Management
[email protected]
+44 (0) 20 7957 5810
Featured Discography
Orff: Carmina Burana
2012
Mephisto and Co
2008