HIDEAKI HIRAI, who has “a talent deeply ingrained in his genes” (The Den), is one of the most gifted young conductors from Japan. He belongs to the Hirai family, famous in the classical music field in Japan. Highlights during the 2012/13 season include his sensational debut at the Wiener Staatsoper immediately followed by a successful return during 2013/14 season and his successful debut in Salzburg for the Austrian premiere of his own acclaimed opera, “Princess from the Moon (Kaguya-hime)”. In December, 2013, “Maestro Hirai made a remarkable Carnegie Hall debut” (The New York Culture Examiner) with rave reviews such as “especially impressive, dynamic, confident, justly deserving of the standing ovation” (The New York Concert Review), conducting from memory the Beethoven 9th Symphony with the New York Festival Orchestra (NYFO). Upon a great success, the NYFO has designated him to be Music Director and Conductor, starting with 2014-15 season.

Since 1998, as a Co-founder, he has collaborated with Czech Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra both in the Czech Republic and abroad, now serving as Principal Guest Conductor. He has held the position of Music Director and Conductor of Tokyo Opera Experimental Theatre and All Japan Youth Orchestra, Conductor of Tokyo Opera Production and Tokyo New City Orchestra, and Music Director of Capital Young Artists Orchestra (Washington, D.C.) and CYAO International Summer Music Festival (Virginia). In 1997, he was the first prize-winner of the Sixth International Conducting Competition in Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic). In 2001, Mr. Hirai was chosen by Lorin Maazel as one of the ten promising conductors in Asia.

He has conducted many leading orchestras including the Cadaques Chamber Orchestra, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Croatian Radio-TV Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Finnish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic, Karlsbad Symphony Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Silesian Philharmonic, Sofia Sinfonietta, and most of the major orchestras in Japan such as New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra as well as appearing at such festivals as the Martinu Festival, Young Prague Music Festival (Czech Rep.), Japan Festival (U.S.A.) and Martha Argerich Music Festival (Beppu, Japan).

Acknowledged as an opera conductor, Maestro Hirai has been a frequent guest with the prestigious New National Theatre, Tokyo. Following his successful debut with Mitridate and Lucio Silla (Mozart) in November 2003, Maestro Hirai was immediately offered re-engagements with Marriage of Figaro in April 2005 and with Serse (Handel) in January 2006. His recent opera performances include productions of La Boheme, Carmen, Madame Butterfly, La Traviata and a sensational success as conductor, composer and librettist of his own opera, Princess from the Moon in Tokyo (2003), which resulted in enthralling the audiences in Australia (2006) as “Puccini-Japanese style” (The Canberra Times), in Prague (2009) as “beautiful music to touch our souls” (Zpravodaj), and throughout Japan as “a birth of the national opera” (Ongaku-no-Tomo). In 2013, the work has been privileged to be listed among the celebrated masterpiece operas by the Chopin/Hanna Press (Japan).

His nationally-commissioned second opera, True Love of Komachi for the prestigious National Cultural Festival 2008 in Japan has enjoyed a sold-out world premiere performance with rave reviews, already followed by many repeat productions. In 2013, his newly-commissioned opera, White Fox, based on the original libretto by a legendary artistic leader Tenshin Okakura, had a sensational world premiere performance in Japan to commemorate 100th anniversary of Okakura’s death.

Mr. Hirai, born into a celebrated musical family, studied piano, violin and composition with his grandfather, eminent composer Kozaburo Hirai and cello with his father, Takeichiro Hirai, noted cellist whom Pablo Casals designated as his successor. Hideaki Hirai graduated from the University of Rochester (New York) with a Bachelor’s degree in political science, where he studied conducting under David Effron at the Eastman School of Music. He completed his Master’s degree in conducting at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University under Frederik Prausnitz, followed by further studies under Otakar Trhlik at the Janacek Academy of Music (Czech Republic) and his mentor Sir Colin Davis in London. - 

…a talent deeply ingrained in his genes...
DEN,(CZECH REPUBLIC)

…an exuberant musicality...
ONGAKU-GENDAI,(JAPAN)

…an inborn opera conductor....animating, fresh and truly the best…
Mozart: “Marriage of Figaro” (New National Theatre Tokyo, Japan)
ONGAKU-GENDAI,(JAPAN)

…His life has been a total musical experience…for him, music is as natural as breathing!
MONTGOMERY TIMES,(U.S.A.)

…a sensitive feeling for resonance. His music-making is convincing due to his fine attention to the style for the Mozart’s early works.
Mozart: “Mitridate” & “Lucio Silla” (New National Theatre Tokyo, Japan) NIKKEI-NEWSPAPER,(JAPAN)

A promising and multi-talented musician, HIDEAKI HIRAI, as conductor, gave such a pleasant performance.
KARLOVARSKE NOVINY,(CZECH　REP.)

With a larger range of internal contrasts and more liveliness, HIRAI presented the Mozart Symphony in E-flat Major, and also the spontaneous conductor emotionally felt the classic style.
ROVNOST,(CZECH　REP.)

...an extremely vivid conducting... his conducting looked
as natural as fish in the water....truly confident and majestic manner.....His explosive and joyful opening among all represented his passionate, agile and fresh performance....In addition to his sincere and sensitive music-making, the climax was thrilling.
ONGAKU-GENDAI,(JAPAN)

The New York Festival Orchestra, consisting of players from throughout the United States, was specially formed for this concert. Usually one expects some roughness from groups of this nature, and while there were a few instances of this, the playing overall was polished and the ensemble remarkably unified, as if they had been together for a long period of time. From the tremolos that open the work, to the timpani bursts in the Scherzo, the sublime Adagio in the third movement, to the Prestissimo of the final bars of the epic last movement, it was a highly satisfying performance. The Beethoven Memorial Chorus was made up of singers from Japan and the United States, all with extensive experience performing the 9th Symphony. This experience showed in their rock-solid performance. Bass-Baritone soloist Katsuji Miura projected with a powerful voice that easily filled the hall with its bold resonance. Soprano Naomi Satake's voice soared with passion, while Tenor Paul Williamson and Alto Francesca Lunghi enriched the textures with their considerable talents.

Maestro Hirai was especially impressive. Conducting from memory, he demonstrated his deep knowledge of the score with unflagging energy and intense concentration. He was dynamic, confident, and completely engaged for the entire 75 minutes. It was especially interesting to me that he “sang” along with the chorus with evident joy on his face. It was among the best of the live performances I have heard of this work and justly deserving of the standing ovation it was accorded. Bravo to all!
Jeffrey Williams for New York Concert Review, (New York, NY) 

Puccini Japanese style, constantly melodious and warmly harmonic
THE CANBERRA TIMES,(AUSTRALIA)

filled with delightfully melodic and, at times movingly beautiful music.melodious and colorfully evocative
OPERA~OPERA,(AUSTRALIA)

beautiful melodies and soul-shaking music
ZPRAVODAJ, (CZECH REP.)

impressed by the the birth of a fascinating Japanese national opera
ONGAKU-NO-TOMO,(JAPAN)

full of beautiful melodies..a great potential to exceed [the famous Japanese opera], ‘Yuhzuru”
ONGAKU GENDAI,(JAPAN)

profound writing…a grand opera..a great spectacle…dynamic and bewitching ballet..a truly touching climax”
ONGAKU GENDAI,(JAPAN)

intoxicated with touching music...resonance to connect the hearts and minds...the power of love to exceed the time...love duet called the thunderous applaus...impressive arias set on the Japanese traditional poem, Tanka/Waka
IBARAKI TIMES,(JAPAN)

shared the excitement throughout the venue with endless curtain calls
JOYO TIMES,(JAPAN)

Mr. David Effron
Conductor, Professor of Music (Orchestral Conducting) Chair, Orchestral Conducting
Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University
Conductor Laureate, Brevard Music Center
Tel: +1-(812)855-4752
E-mail: deffron@indiana.edu

Sir Colin Davis
Conductor, President, London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Laureate, Dresden Staatskapelle
Tel: +44-207-609-5864 (c/o Alison Glaister)
E-mail: aglaister@rexx.demon.co.uk

Mr. Akira Obi
President, Million Concert, Inc.
Tel. +81-3-3501-5638
Fax. +81-3-3501-5620
E-mail: classic@millionconcert.co.jp

Mr. Thomas Novohradsky
Former Artistic Director, Opera New National Theatre Tokyo
Former Head of Production
Vienna State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper)
E-mail: thno1959@yahoo.com

Mr. Saburo Kurematsu
Former Executive Trustee, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts
Artistic Advisor, Wako Civic Culture Center
Tel: +81-48-468-7774
E-mail: saburo.kurematsu@hotmail.co.jp 

USA-Japan Goodwill Mission Concert
New York Festival Orchestra, Beethoven Memorial Chorus
Hideaki Hirai, Music Director and Conductor; Hideyuki Tsuji, Choral Conductor

Naomi Satake, soprano, Francesca Lunghi, alto, Paul Williamson, tenor, Katsuji Miura, bass-baritone Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

December 26, 2013

The New York Festival Orchestra, consisting of players from throughout the United States, was specially formed for this concert. Usually one expects some roughness from groups of this nature, and while there were a few instances of this, the playing overall was polished and the ensemble remarkably unified, as if they had been together for a long period of time. From the tremolos that open the work, to the timpani bursts in the Scherzo, the sublime Adagio in the third movement, to the Prestissimo of the final bars of the epic last movement, it was a highly satisfying performance.

The Beethoven Memorial Chorus was made up of singers from Japan and the United States, all with extensive experience performing the 9th Symphony. This experience showed in their rock-solid performance. Bass-Baritone soloist Katsuji Miura projected with a powerful voice that easily filled the hall with its bold resonance. Soprano Naomi Satake's voice soared with passion, while Tenor Paul Williamson and Alto Francesca Lunghi enriched the textures with their considerable talents.

Maestro Hirai was especially impressive. Conducting from memory, he demonstrated his deep knowledge of the score with unflagging energy and intense concentration. He was dynamic, confident, and completely engaged for the entire 75 minutes. It was especially interesting to me that he “sang” along with the chorus with evident joy on his face. It was among the best of the live performances I have heard of this work and justly deserving of the standing ovation it was accorded. Bravo to all!

Jeffrey Williams for New York Concert Review; New York, NY