Tag: Michael Gielen

Eiji Hashimoto was a virtuoso and scholar of the harpsichord

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Eiji Hashimoto

Eiji Hashimoto is remembered by his students and colleagues as as a brilliant performer, a distinguished scholar of baroque music and a dedicated teacher of the harpsichord.

Mr. Hashimoto died in Cincinnati on Jan. 14 at the age of 89.

“His legacy is great,” said Michael Unger, associate professor of organ and harpsichord at CCM. “He had a strong reputation in the harpsichord world, and he leaves behind a rich legacy among his former colleagues and students at CCM. His name is still remembered well for his long and distinguished work at CCM as a teacher, harpsichordist and director of ensembles dedicated to eighteenth-century music.”

In 1968, while on a concert tour of the United States, Mr. Hashimoto, a native of Japan, was invited by the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music to establish a harpsichord program at the school. He served for 33 years on the faculty until 2001, when he became professor emeritus.

Quiet and unassuming, Mr. Hashimoto built a distinguished academic and performing career over three decades. As a soloist, he dazzled audiences in more than 50 international tours, and made numerous recordings in the U.S. and Japan. His own editions of baroque music for the keyboard are highly regarded.

Between 1968 and 1986, Mr. Hashimoto performed many times with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as a guest artist and soloist. In the ’80s, he was the orchestra’s official harpsichordist under the tenure of music director Michael Gielen, and performed J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with him in Music Hall.

Mr. Hashimoto also performed under maestros Max Rudolf and Thomas Schippers, as well as at the Cincinnati May Festival under the legendary Robert Shaw. He recalled to me in an interview that Schippers loved 18th-century music and “needed me all the time” for Handel and Bach oratorios and concerti grossi. He also performed a contemporary harpsichord work by Ned Rorem during that time.Read More »

Michael Gielen championed modern music, led CSO through the ’80s

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Michael Gielen was the CSO’s 10th music director. Photo courtesy of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

The distinguished German-born conductor Michael Gielen, who led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the 1980s, died of pneumonia on March 8 at his home in Mondsee, Austria. He was 91.

Gielen was appointed the 10th music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, serving from 1980 to 1986. He succeeded music adviser Walter Susskind, who stepped in for two seasons following the untimely death of Thomas Schippers in 1977.

An ardent champion of contemporary music, Gielen was one of the most important conductors of his generation.

As a music director, Gielen’s preference for programming the music of the Second Viennese School didn’t always endear him to Cincinnati audiences. But during his tenure, his discipline and exceptional ear became legendary, and the orchestra achieved new heights as a polished performing ensemble.

“Many felt that, through no fault of its own, the orchestra had lost some of its technical edge. Though his tenure was a brief six years, Michael’s strong, consistent artistic leadership restored the CSO’s luster and musical discipline,” said David Loebel, associate conductor of orchestras at the New England Conservatory, who was Gielen’s assistant conductor during his tenure.

“Many bristled at his demanding programs, which were meant to challenge and enlighten rather than merely entertain,” Loebel said. “Those who attended one of his CSO concerts expecting to relax and have pretty sounds wash over them were bound to be disappointed. Those willing to be exposed to worthwhile music they had never heard and to discover new things about the music they already knew, usually left exhilarated.”Read More »