Cast
Olivier Simonnet — Movie director
Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland
Seiji Ozawa — Conductor
Program notes
Until his death in 2024, Seiji Ozawa was one of the last living legends of a golden age of orchestral conducting. A student of both Charles Munch and Herbert von Karajan and an assistant to Leonard Bernstein, Ozawa went on to conduct the prestigious Boston Symphony Orchestra for 30 years. Even so, his red Nikes and baseball cap gave the octogenarian defied the expectations one might have for a world-famous maestro. Up to the end of his life, this unconventional musician continued to inspire admiration and respect among both musicians and audiences struck by his energy and commitment.
A passionate music educator, he founded the Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland in 2004, where he taught young musicians about both chamber music and orchestral playing. In 2015, 27 musicians from the academy came to the Fondation Louis Vuitton. This documentary weaves together interviews with the young talents and their mentor Ozawa to capture the joy and richness of their intergenerational encounter.
