Tzimon Barto – Christoph Eschenbach – Tokyo – 2020 – Past Daily Mid-Week Concert.

Christoph Eschenbach (L) – Tzimon Barto (R) – in the service of Brahms this week.

Over to NHK Hall in Tokyko for a performance by the NHK Symphony, guest conducted by Christoph Eschenbach and featuring Tzimon Barto, piano.

Two works this week, both by Brahms – beginning with the 2nd Piano Concert and ending with the Brahms/Schoenberg piano Quartet number 1 (arranged by Arnold Schoenberg) – the concert was recorded live on January 17, 2020 by NHK-FM in Tokyo.

Tzimon Barto – As one of the foremost American pianists, Tzimon Barto performs on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and in Asia. His international breakthrough occurred in the mid-1980’s when he performed at the Wiener Musikverein and the Salzburger Festspiele on invitation of Herbert von Karajan. Tzimon Barto has since played with every major international orchestra and is regularly invited to many festivals.

Wolfgang Rihm dedicated his Second Piano Concerto to Tzimon Barto. The piece was premiered at the Salzburger Festspiele 2014 with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, followed by a tour in Germany and Italy. After the American premiere with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, it was presented to audiences in Munich, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Stuttgart and Freiburg. It has also been performed in 2016/17, as part of his residency with the SWR Symphonieorchester. In September 2025 he played Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety in Norköpping and at Musikfest Berlin.

Christoph Eschenbach – (born February 20, 1940 in Wroclaw) was a war orphan, raised in Schleswig-Holstein and Aachen by his mother’s cousin, the pianist Wallydore Eschenbach. Her lessons laid the foundation of his illustrious musical career. Following his studies with Eliza Hansen (piano) and Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (conducting), he won notable piano awards – such as the ARD Competition Munich 1962 and the Concours Clara Haskil 1965 – that helped to pave the way for his growing international fame.

Supported by mentors such as George Szell and Herbert von Karajan, the focus of Christoph Eschenbach’s career increasingly moved to conducting: His first position as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director was with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, then he moved on to the Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich from 1982 to 1986, Musical Director of Houston Symphony from 1988 to 1999, Artistic Director of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival from 1999 to 2002, Musical Director of the NDR Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2004, the Philadelphia Orchestra from 2003 to 2008 and the Orchestre de Paris from 2000 to 2010. From 2010 to 2017, Eschenbach held the position of Musical Director of the Washington National Symphony Orchestra. From 2019 to 2023 he was Music Director of the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin. Mo. Eschenbach has recently been appointed Artistic Director of the National Forum of Music NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic from September 2024. Alongside his prestigious appointments, Eschenbach has always attached great importance to his extensive activities as a guest conductor, working with orchestras such as the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the New York Philharmonic, Scala Milano, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo.

Christoph Eschenbach has been awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and is a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres; he is a holder of the German Federal Cross of Merit and a winner of the Leonard Bernstein Award.

Thanks to the respective Artists bio’s for much appreciated information.

Now on to the concert.