Akzo Nobel Sponsors Enrico Dindo's Debut Performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as part of the Akzo Nobel for Young Talent program.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 1999--

Akzo Nobel, a multinational company active in the fields of healthcare products, coatings, chemicals, and fibers, is proud to sponsor the Cellist Enrico Dindo as part of their Akzo Nobel for Young Talent program. Akzo Nobel for Young Talent is a unique initiative which offers the winners of the world's great international music competitions the opportunity to perform in major musical centers around the world with famous orchestras and prominent conductors.

This year's concert is the sixteenth in the series and will be held in Chicago on Wednesday, June 9, 1999 at Symphony Center. The concert is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Shostokovich Festival - which begins on May 27 and runs through June 12 - and will be presented under the direction of acclaimed conductor and cellist, Mstilav Rostropovich. Mr. Dindo will perform Shostakovich's arrangement of Schumann's Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129, at the Orchestra Hall concert.

Italian Cellist Enrico Dindo, who is making his debut performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was awarded the First Prize at the International Cello Competition "Mstilav Rostropovich" in Paris. Dindo is intensively involved with the Trio d' Arohi della Scala with whom he performs in the major festivals and concert halls in Italy. With the Trio, he has toured in Canada, the United States, and Greece and has made various recordings among which the Sonatas by Brahms. He attracted the attention of the public and critics when he took part in the performance of the Triple Concerto by Beethoven with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala conducted by Riccardo Muti at the Teatro alla Scala and on tour in Italy. Dindo plays a Giovanbattista Guadagnini instrument, which belonged to the famous cellists Antonio Janigro and Mario Brunello.

Young talent often has difficulty establishing an international career because concert halls are reluctant to schedule them. By subsidizing performances and guaranteeing a full house, the Young Talent program provides the necessary financial support for young talent to perform with world-class orchestras and conductors. The Akzo Nobel for Young Talent concerts are usually part of the concert hall's subscription series, ensuring young talent the largest audience possible.

Akzo Nobel's partner in the project is the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC). A key WFIMC objective is to "discover new ways to promote the careers of member competition laureates" since the great majority of the candidates participating in competitions do so in the hope of obtaining concert engagements.

Cees van Lede, CEO and Chairman of Akzo Nobel, in discussing this project stated: "The theme of the project is young talent - but this is not restricted to music; it encompasses talent in every form. Akzo Nobel's continued success will depend on our ability to attract young and talented people".

Akzo Nobel concentrates its sponsorship efforts in cities where they have a strong business presence: Chicago, Stockholm, The Hague, Birmingham, Brussels, Beijing and Shanghai. Young Talent winners have played with various International Orchestras including the Residentie Orkest, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the BRTn Philharmonic Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Akzo Nobel, headquartered in Arnhem, The Netherlands, serves customers throughout the world with healthcare products, coatings, chemicals, and fibers. The fibers business, now known as Acordis, is intended to be demerged in the course of the second half of 1999. The company currently employs 85,500 people and has activities in more than 60 countries. As of 1999, the Euro will be Akzo Nobel's external reporting currency. Consolidated sales for 1998 totaled $13.8 billion (NLG 27.5 billion / EUR 12.5 billion / GBP 8.4 billion). Financial results for the second quarter of 1999 will be announced on July 28.

In North America more than 9,000 people in over 150 locations work for the company, which has U.S. headquarters in Chicago. The company has annual sales of approximately $3 billion. Akzo Nobel's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are traded on NASDAQ under the AKZOY symbol.

Internet: www.akzonobel.com