Additional Artists Takashi Asahina, Osaka Philharmonic OrchestraRelease Date 10-20-2010Additional Artists: Takashi Asahina, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra4975769371912Takashi Asahina (b. July 9, 1908d. Dec. 29, 2001), was credited with popularizing the Austro-German repertoireespecially Bruckner, Beethoven, and Mahlerin Japan and had one of the longest careers of any conductor, remaining professionally active virtually right up until his death at the age of 93. A self-taught violinist, Asahina abandoned a legal career and worked as a department-store clerk and a railroad engineer before apprenticing himself to Russian conductor Emmanuel Metter in the early 1930s. Asahina made his conducting debut in 1939 and founded the Kansai Symphony Orchestra (now the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra) in 1947 and remained its musical director until he passed away.For some, Takashi Asahina was "the Karajan of Japan"; for others, his eminence was derived at least in part from his being the oldest conductor on the international scene; for others yet, he was quite simply an excellent musician, with a special sympathy for the classics of the Austro-German repertoire. Audiophile XRCD24 24-Bit Mastering Takashi Asahina Legend XRCD EditionTakashi Asahina, conductorSymphony No. 7 in E Major (Haas version)2. Adagio, Sehr feierlich und sehr langsamTotal playing time, 64:47Recorded live on September 13, 1983 at St. Mary's Cathedral in Tokyo.
