The eminent German conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch is credited for having created NHKSO's characteristic "sound rooted in the German tradition" during his 40-year association. In his final November 2004 collaboration with the orchestra, he imparted a soft watercolor-like diffused edge to the sharp and clear modern tones giving the music even more depth. Pay particular attention to the maestro's left hand. The subtlety Sawallisch desires the orchestra to convey is expressed in these movements. In this final performance with the NHKSO, Sawallisch wanted to communicate so much and the orchestra responds magnificently. Sit back and enjoy the confident performance that comes only with total trust between conductor and orchestra.

Although Christoph Eschenbach belongs firmly in a line of distinguished conductors of the German tradition, he began his illustrious music career as a pianist. Since his focus moved to conducting in the 1970s, he has held the directorship of numerous renowned orchestras throughout the world and received the highest musical honors. He has also performed as a featured pianist with the NHKSO many times. As a conductor, this 2017 performance was the first collaboration with the NHKSO in thirty years. Eschenbach is a perfectionist, an exacting conductor who pays attention to the minutest of details to polish the sound for a consummate performance. Be amazed at the virtuosity of an orchestra that presents very different interpretations of symphonies by the same composer reflecting the zeitgeist and the style of the conductor.

We present this brand-new September 2022 performance as the last of the three featured in this series. Fabio Luisi names Sawallisch as one of his mentors and a role model as a musician. In Part 1 of this series, you heard the Brahms symphony that was Sawallisch's final collaboration with the NHKSO. Now, listen to Luisi's Brahms symphony and see if you can detect any indication of the direction the orchestra is headed under his directorship. You may catch the melodic phrases that Luisi, an Italian, infuses into this new performance. Brahms is one of the representative composers in the NHKSO repertoire. Speaking of the repertoire, Luisi stated he will perfect it by making it deeper, newer and different, and this intent can clearly be felt in this rendition. Watch this and the other two performances in this series as the standard for comparison for all other Brahms symphony performances.