Shogo Akagawa from Berlin
Reporting on business and finance is his job, classical music is his passion.
“Classical music is my passion. My grandfather aroused my interest in it. He loved the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and had recordings of the former principal conductor Franz Konwitschny at home. We always used to listen to them. Whenever my work as chief Europe correspondent of Nikkei, the Japanese business newspaper, allows, I go to classical concerts or operas. I definitely manage that 60 or 70 times a year. In the meantime I have a subscription to the Gewandhaus Orchestra – in the third generation, so to speak. The Wagner Festival in Bayreuth is a highlight of the season. I also enjoy writing about it. It makes a change from the business and finance on which I otherwise work. After all, our readers, mainly managers in Japan, are interested in European culture. Ultimately, that’s also the reason why I absolutely wanted to be the Europe correspondent. The continent is great when it comes to the diversity of cultures and languages.”
