As Kazushi Ono takes up a new role as Music Director of Brussels Philharmonic, he shares some of his guiding principles with Maestro Arts
My ideal orchestral sound is one that grows upwards, like a great cathedral. To create this sort of dimensional sound, you need a steady foundation, beautifully constructed walls and many sonorities in between. When I work with an orchestra, I try to achieve this profound architecture.
Accompanying voices is one good way to develop the sound of an orchestra. It encourages flexibility in the players, and their tone becomes more like that of singers. It’s more expressive, whether they’re creating a gorgeous carpet for the choir or playing as one with the human voices. Another advantage of programming vocal music is that you have texts to work with – the content has a very clear, concrete meaning, because of the words, so it is easy to translate this feeling into the music.
Read the full interview here.