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In September 1986 a guest conductorship brought him, with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, to Germany and Japan (not for the first time). He conducted two concert in Germany and five in Japan.
The schedule of the concert series was as follows:
| 1986-09-03 | Amsterdam, Concertgebouw | Wagner, Bruckner |
| 1986-09-10 | Hannover, Stadthalle | Mozart, Bruckner |
| 1986-09-11 | Berlin, Philharmonie | Wagner, Bruckner |
| 1986-09-16 | Tokyo, Bunka Kaikan | Wagner, Bruckner |
| 1986-09-17 | Tokyo, Hitomi Memorial Hall | Mozart, Bruckner |
| 1986-09-22 | Chiba, Chiba-Ken Bunka Kaikan | Wagner, Bruckner |
| 1986-09-25 | Akashi, Shimin Kaikan | Mozart, Bruckner |
| 1986-09-26 | Osaka, Festival Hall | Wagner, Bruckner |
The tour was a triumph: an eighty-three year old man conducting Wagner (Vorspiel and Liebestod from Tristan), Bruckner VII and Mozart 33 with the enthousiasm of a man in his thirties.
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The same program (Wagner and Bruckner) went in Amsterdam only on the 3rd of the same month. Anyone who attended it would have been catched by the lyrical style, the never - failing attention of Jochum's conducting style and his obvious love for this music. Of the one and only concert in Amsterdam there exists only a Wagner - fragment on video (from a portrait-film made by Ottokar Runze, ZDF German Television), but at least I got my memories of attending this concert. Both the orchestra and its conductor were dressed in white, which provided a special atmosphere in the "Grote Zaal".
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Of a concert given September 17, 1986 (Bruckner and Mozart), there exists a video recording made by Japanese Television, of a concert in Tokyo. It is archived also at Stanford. A broadcasted recording exists of the same performance. The Bruckner has been released in Japan on a bootleg CD label. Both a copy of the video and of the CD recording were provided to me for evaluation, thanks to the kindness of Mr. H. Kimura (USA).
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This Bruckner VII performance is a lasting experience and a must for all admirers of Eugen Jochum: the subtle playing of the orchestra as it develops under his guidance is seldomly heard anymore. The warm strings, the noble and powerful brass, but above all the clear and strong woodwinds demonstrate how Eugen Jochum mobilized the resources of the Concertgebouw Orkest in an ideal way. The Introduction is moving. The Adagio is monumental. The Scherzo is not a fast running train, but a pleasant voyage through a new and undiscovered country. The Finale suddenly introduces the sad awareness that even this concert must have an end. What is written about the concert on September 3 in Amsterdam also applies to this concert in Tokyo, where the public reacts accordingly, as could be expected from true music lovers.
Currently, I am collecting some more data about the concert in Amsterdam which will be put here.
Back to 1974 - 1986: Less frequent appearances in Amsterdam