Hiroo Okabe of Yamaha Corporation Receives Merit Award in Gold of the Province of Vienna

Yamaha Corporation announces that Director and Managing Executive Officer Hiroo Okabe has received the Merit Award in Gold of the Province of Vienna. Established by Viennese provincial law on July 14, 1967, this award system bestows honors on people who have made contributions to the Province of Vienna in a wide range of fields, including culture and art.
The reasons cited for the award include Okabe's management participation at L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH and his development of wind instruments for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Okabe was also acclaimed for his long-standing contribution to "Vienna Culture". The award ceremony took place from 11 a.m. local time on May 30 at Vienna City Hall with several interested parties in attendance.

Reasons for Award

Since 2008, Yamaha Corporation has participated in the management at Bösendorfer, the world-class premium piano maker (founded in 1828, headquartered in Wiener Neustadt, Austria) and supported the handing down of traditional piano manufacturing techniques. From the early 1970s, at the request of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Yamaha assisted in the development of special Viennese instruments—a group of important instruments, such as the Viennese oboe and Viennese horn—that enabled the continuation of Viennese Sound and Music, the very survival of which was threatened by the dwindling number of manufacturers of those instruments. The manufacture and supply of those instruments continues to this day.
This award recognizes Okabe's deep involvement, as both an engineer and senior executive, in all of the above, the deep understanding he has for Viennese culture and music, and his contribution to preserving and improving the Viennese Sound.

Hiroo Okabe Profile

Hiroo Okabe's Comments on the Award

As a maker of musical instruments, Yamaha achieves the high performance demanded by artists. Furthermore, by addressing the wide-ranging needs of a variety of musical expressions, Yamaha's corporate objective is to contribute to the development of music culture. This award can be taken as Vienna's recognition of what our unrelenting teamwork has humbly achieved for Viennese music culture, which has remained faithful to its own traditions against the surge of globalism. Of all the aspects of Viennese music culture, I would like to mention, in particular, the subjects that are closest to my heart: namely, the handing down to generations to come of the iconic grand traditions of Bösendorfer and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. I would like to share this honor with my colleagues and other senior staff members who were involved in these projects.