On June 4, 2026, I attended the Osaka Philharmonic’s Rachmaninoff program. This essay records the surprise and admiration I felt for Makoto Ozone’s performance of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and the overwhelming brilliance of the Osaka Philharmonic’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1.
Of course, I know what kind of performer Makoto Ozone is.
But today was the first time I had ever heard him perform live.
The gentleman seated next to me was clearly one of his fans.
I think there were many of his fans in the hall as well.
When Ozone began to play, I was astonished.
Because it was jazz piano itself.
As I listened, I thought it had the character of Keith Jarrett or Chick Corea playing Rachmaninoff.
And I thought that, in its own way, it was quite good.
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, op. 43…his performance of what might be called the showpiece passages of this work was truly splendid.
After the performance, the entire hall burst into thunderous applause.
I was seated in the middle of Row D on the first floor, so I could see all the people directly above and to the side of the orchestra.
Almost all of the people to the side were giving him a standing ovation.
The applause would not stop, and as a soloist’s encore, he played one of his own compositions.
I believe the title was something like Beyond the Horizon.
It was wonderful.
The bravos from his fans were almost screams.
But my real purpose was the Osaka Philharmonic’s performance of Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1 in D minor, op. 13.
How magnificent their performance was.
Bravo! Supreme! Splendid! I praised them with all three cries.
Tonight, I became convinced.
The Osaka Philharmonic is one of the world’s greatest orchestras.
It is unforgivable that the annual income of the members of this magnificent orchestra is not even half that of NHK employees.
I was listening tonight while feeling that anger as well.
To be continued.