150th Anniversary
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Yamamoto: Thank you for coming today.

Sado: Thank you very much for inviting me to this special occasion celebrating your 150th anniversary.
I was born in Kyoto, and to be honest, as a child I used to play baseball in the park right next to Shimadzu. I feel a mysterious sense of connection.

Yamamoto: Is that so? Well, I have a confession of my own too. When I was a student, I belonged to a choir and even served as a conductor. Since you, Mr.Sado often conduct choral works, and I’ve enjoyed listening to your music for a long time, I’ve always hoped I’d have a chance to meet you.

Sado: I see, you’ve conducted a choir, and now you’re conducting a corporation!

Yamamoto: Yes [laughs]. There might be some similarities between the two. Shimadzu is not an orchestra, but within the company there are many parts, or roles to play, and I often encourage our employees to bring out their strengths and devote themselves to their roles to achieve greater harmony.

Sado: I’m quite certain I could never conduct a corporation [laughs].

[both laugh]

Yamamoto: If you don’t mind, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you, Mr. Sado. The field of science and technology, which we are engaged in here at Shimadzu, stem from a deep interest in nature and life. I believe these always been close to humanity, even since ancient times.
Take, for example, cave paintings. Before anything was drawn, there must have first been a desire, an urge to express something. To fulfill that desire, people would have realized they needed tools or materials to draw with. And in creating those materials, they would have gone through many trials and errors, making adjustments along the way.
Eventually, through repeated effort, they succeeded in painting on the cave walls. I believe that by accumulating such desires, failures, and innovations, and gradually systematizing them, we arrived at what we now call science and technology.
And what about music, how do you think it originated?”

Sado: That’s a rather difficult question. I’m not a scholar, so I’ll respond without anthropological or historical references. But I think ancient music arose because of a desire to express emotions and excitement. Adding rhythms and modulation can be just as expressive as words, or even more so.

Yamamoto: I see. Music certainly has the power to move the heart.

Sado: From there, melodies gradually emerged, giving rise to the concept of music itself. And for music to be counted as a part of culture as it is today, I believe there were two major turning points in music’s history.

Yamamoto: What were they?

Sado: One was encountering religion. People began to notice that the power of music could be effective in spreading faith, and started using it actively. Christian music is a clear example, but even Buddhism and Islam include musical elements. I imagine that as a result, people with musical skills became more valued, and more people started wanting to be involved in music.

Yamamoto: Interesting.

Sado: Another critical event was the development of musical notation. I think this was a great invention. Musical sheets allow different people to play the same music again and again. They allow musical ideas to transcend distance and time. Today, I can perform works by Mozart or Beethoven thanks to musical notation.

Yamamoto: You are exactly right. In my youth, I too used to study sheet music so closely it felt like I was staring holes into it. I believe sheet music reflects the soul of the composer. You conducted Beethoven’s Ninth (Symphony No. 9 “The Ode to Joy”) for the opening of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. I heard that around 10,000 people joined the chorus.

Sado: Yes. I’ve had the honor of conducting several performances of the Ninth with ten-thousand-person choruses, but doing it for the opening of the Expo made it especially meaningful. Are you familiar with the lyrics?

Yamamoto: Yes, of course.

Sado: The lyrics of the Ninth Symphony speak of people from different backgrounds and ways of life becoming brothers through a kind of magical power.
But it also says some pretty strong things, especially the phrase, “Embrace one another.” The lyrics say that unless we embrace each other, we cannot truly be brothers. To me, it felt as though the lyrics are describing today’s increasingly divided world, almost like a message of encouragement directed at all of us.

Yamamoto: You’re absolutely right. Perhaps now is the time when the Ode to Joy should be sung throughout the world.