Tokyo - It was a fitting culmination to a successful day: When, after 30 minutes of music, the sounds of the young musicians of the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy Orchestra (OICMA), under the leadership of Japanese maestro conductor Seiji Ozawa, fell silent, the guests at the LANXESS Gala Dinner on the occasion of the first ‘LANXESS Rubber Days’ event in Tokyo on November 21 were utterly enthralled. High-caliber representatives from the world of politics, science and economy had come along to bring the conference day to a close. The fact that they were able to acquire a taste not only for the culinary, but also for the exquisite musical delicacies was no coincidence: The OICMA was only recently founded by Seiji Ozawa, with the support of LANXESS. Like the “Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland”, this too enables talented young musicians from all across Asia to receive a quite special musical education.

“For a young string player who wants to be a world-class musician, intensive chamber music training, particularly in a string quartet, is essential. That LANXESS supports, is very important,” said Ozawa.

Seiji Ozawa, the longest serving music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1973-2002), was the music director of the Vienna State Opera from 2002 to 2010. 

He founded the Saito Kinen Orchestra in 1984, the Saito Kinen Festival in 1992, and, in 2000, he founded the Ozawa Ongaku-Juku in Japan, an academy for aspiring young orchestral musicians. In 2001, he was recognized by the Japanese government as a Person of Cultural Merit, in 2008, he was honored with Japan’s Order of Culture and last month was awarded the Praemium Imperiale – the World Culture Prize dedicated to his Highness Prince Takamatsu, which is equivalent to the “Nobel Prize of the Arts”.

The OICMA currently represents LANXESS’ second sponsorship of young musicians in Japan. The company also sponsors the Saito Kinen Festival’s Opera for Young People in Matsumoto. Moreover, LANXESS is a main sponsor of the 150 Years of German-Japanese Friendship initiative of the Japanese and German Governments currently being celebrated in both countries.