Kazuyoshi Akiyama

was a Japanese conductor who held conducting posts of symphony orchestras in Japan, Canada and the U.S., such as the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra from 1964 for life, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra from 1972 to 1985, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 1993, and the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra from 1998. Akiyama conducted the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in the Japanese premieres of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron, John Adams's El Niño and Helmut Lachenmann's Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern, among others.

Life and career Born into a musical family, Akiyama studied piano first with his mother, who was a professional piano teacher, from age three.

Awards Akiyama received the 1975 Suntory Music Award. In 2001, he was awarded the Purple Ribbon medal from the Japanese Government for his outstanding contribution to the country's musical culture.