was a Japanese
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear
* Conduction aphasia, a language disorder
Mathematics
* Conductor (ring theory)
* Conductor of an abelian variety
* Cond ...
.
Person
Asahina was born in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
as an
illegitimate child
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce.
Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...
of
Kaichi Watanabe
was a Japanese engineer who studied and worked in Scotland, United Kingdom during the 1880s. He was one of the first Japanese engineers who came to study in the UK. He is best known for his work with Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker in c ...
.
[中丸美繪 オーケストラ、それは我なり(in Japanese) ]Bungeishunjū
is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine '' Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well a ...
pp.35-49, 2008 He founded the ''Kansai Symphonic Orchestra'' (today the
Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra
The is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Osaka, Japan. Founded in 1947 as the Kansai Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra took the name of the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra in 1960, and in 2014, formally assumed the official name of the Osaka P ...
) in 1947 and remained its chief conductor until his death in
Kobe
Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...
. Inspired by a meeting with
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...
in the 1950s, he began a lifelong attachment to the music of
Anton Bruckner
Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...
, recording the complete Bruckner symphonies several times. For many years, he was associated with the
North German Radio Orchestra in Hamburg. In May and October 1996, he appeared with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...
.
Awards and honors
*
Asahi Prize
The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...
*
Medal with Purple Ribbon
are medals awarded by the Emperor of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and were ...
*
Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class
*
Person of Cultural Merit
is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...
*
Order of Culture
The is a Japanese Order (decoration), order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japanese Art, Japan's art, Japanese Literature, literature, science, technolog ...
*
*
Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class
External links
ObituaryTribute to Maestro Takashi AsahinaAsteroid 5230 named in his honor
References
1908 births
2001 deaths
20th-century Japanese conductors (music)
20th-century Japanese male musicians
Japanese male conductors (music)
Kyoto University alumni
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Musicians from Tokyo
Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of Culture
Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class
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