
Kazuyoshi Akiyama rehearses the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra at a rehearsal in 1993. Photo by Nicholas Lisi.
In Tuesday’s (1/28) This Is CNY (Syracuse, NY), Johnathan Croyle writes, “Remembered as ‘one of the world’s most-travelled conductors,’ Kazuyoshi Akiyama, died on Sunday, Jan. 26, in Tokyo, after sustaining injuries following a fall. He was 84 years old. Akiyama served as the Music Director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 1993 after conducting symphonies and orchestras at Toronto, Vancouver, and the American Symphony Orchestra…. David Ross, former bassoonist with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, said, ‘He turned a “pretty good” orchestra into an excellent orchestra, and we played at that high level every time he was on the podium.’… Akiyama was born in Tokyo in 1941…. He began studying at the Toho School of Music when he was 15 years old, studying both piano and conducting, as well as the French horn and percussion…. In 1963, he made his conducting debut with the Tokyo Symphony and, within two months, was named the orchestra’s Music Director and Permanent Conductor…. His successor [at Syracuse], Fabio Machetti, cheered Akiyama’s contributions to Syracuse Symphony Orchestra … He was invited to conduct orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, Cologne Broadcast Symphony, Bayerischer Rundfunk, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras. Akiyama won many honors over his long career.”