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O J AI M A G A Z I N E | SPRING ‘24
‘Music is alive’ with Mitsuko Uchida by KAREN LINDELL
Some listen with brains … some with the soul
H
ow hot was it in Ojai on Sunday, June 2, 1996?
This is not a joke. It was so hot — 98 degrees Fahrenheit — that the L.A. Philharmonic musicians at the outdoor Ojai Music Festival wore shorts, T-shirts, and sandals, and conductor Pierre Boulez tossed aside his jacket and tie, then rolled up his sleeves.
intensity of her concentration. She just willed the heat away.”
rare musician [who] lives deeply in the music she plays.”
Piercing solar rays are less likely to be a problem when Uchida returns to the festival in 2024, this time as the music director. The festival has made changes to its schedule since 1996, shifting afternoon concerts to the morning.
Uchida says she doesn’t have an agenda for the festival other than openness: “I don’t ever plan. You want listening to music to be as open as possible, and as honest as possible. I am not playing to do something to people. Some listen with brains … some with the soul. But somehow if people can just get that live music is alive and something totally different from recorded music.”
Solo pianist Mitsuko Uchida, meanwhile, playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, was unfazed, even as a sunshade set up at Libbey Bowl became useless when a harsh streak of sunlight landed on her face.
What hasn’t changed, however, is Uchida’s intense devotion to music. Uchida, in addition to choosing the musicians and concert programs for the festival with Guzelimian, will also perform and conduct during concerts and other events June 6-9 at Libbey Bowl and other Ojai locations.
“She was not going to be deterred by it,” says Ara Guzelimian, the festival’s artistic and executive director. “That’s the
“She is one of the most profound and deeply probing artists in the world today,” Guzelimian says. “She is an extraordinarily
Below: The Mahler Chamber Orchestra Photo courtesy Mahler Chamber Orchestra