[UPDATED May 14] May Concert - Austrian Serenade
Monday, Mar 23 2009 06:13 | Permalink
Austrian Serenade, at Foreign Correspondents Club
5/22 (Fri), 06:30pm (doors open 6:00pm)
Tickets:
www.tokyosinfonia.com
Tel. (03) 3588 0738
info@tokyosinfonia.com
5/22 (Fri), 06:30pm (doors open 6:00pm)
Tickets:
www.tokyosinfonia.com
Tel. (03) 3588 0738
info@tokyosinfonia.com
AUSTRIAN SERENADE (5/22)
May 22, Friday, 10 days from now, we rejoice in the renewal of spring with the beautiful music of Vienna. The Tokyo Sinfonia and I offer you Schubert's charming Symphony No. 5, Mozart's buoyant Violin Concerto No. 5, and Haydn's robust Symphony No. 5. It is quite possibly our loveliest programme of the year. It will be made all the more delicious with the appetising fare of the traditional Austrian kitchen -- Wienerschnitzel, of course, together with Green Garden Salad and Black Forest Cake, various wines from the cash bar, all provided with the FCCJ staff's usual courteous service.
Haydn, Mozart and Schubert lived during a special time of the Enlightenment in Europe. Peace and prosperity prevailed, and the arts flourished. The was a constant round of entertainments in Vienna which drew the best of talent like a magnet, and then shared their creativity with all the capitals of the world. This is the music that still attracts the broadest audience today.
This programme is a part of our observation of the Austrian-Japan Year of Friendship, which by the way coincides with the 200th year of the birth of Haydn. Ads Papa Haydn may be said to have started it all in music, so we will end our programme with the symphony Haydn composed just prior to his engagement to provide a lifetime of music for Count Esterhazy, and for the world.
You need no prompting from me, I am sure, to note that the recurring number five alludes to May, the fifth month of the year. This is the time when proverbially a young man's heart turns to thoughts of love and romance. I suggest therefore that you invite a person with whom you would like to share a gracious evening to join you for the romantic music, fine food and cosmopolitan atmosphere.
We do have space at the tables, more than usual, so you can be assured of a good seat, and good food, and good music.
Tokyo Sinfonia in May (5/22): FCCJ dinner-concert
AUSTRIAN SERENADE
Symphony No. 5 (Schubert)
Violin Concerto No. 5 (Mozart) - Keiko Kawamata, Violin solo
Symphony No. 5 (Haydn)
3-course traditional Austrian dinner
Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (Yurakucho)
Table tickets: Group ￥8,445 each; Single ￥9,335; 4-concert subscriptions ￥33,000
An Austria-Japan Friendship Year 2009 event
Our Austrian Serenade FCCJ dinner-concert is a great opportunity for business entertainment, by the way, either for employee benefits or customer relations. All in all, it promises to be an inspirational evening out to relax and recharge the emotional batteries and remind yourself that the world is indeed full of genuine beauty. Enjoy it with a friend; even better, with a group of friends. Email us at tickets@tokyosinfonia.com, phone us at (03) 3588 0738, fax us at (03) 3588 0731, or order online at tokyosinfonia.com.
With best wishes from
Robert Ryker and the Tokyo Sinfonia
Coming Tokyo Sinfonia events
06/12 (Fri.) Dvorak Serenade Symphonies for Strings champagne concert, Oji Hall (Ginza)
07/10 (Fri.) Conductor's Seminar fnal public performance, Akasaka Kyokai
08/07 (Fri.) American Serernade FCCJ dinner-concert, Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (Yurakucho)
The concert programme will be interspersed between the courses of traditional Austrian cuisine prepared in the excellent kitchen of the FCCJ. As always, a cash bar complements the menu and the music.
The sight and smell of the world in full bloom brings out a special lightness of spirit in May. That lightness of spirit seems charmingly captured in the fifth symphony of Haydn, the fifth violin concerto of Mozart, and the fifth symphony of Schubert. Perhaps that's a bit corny but, well, that's the way I feel. You'll love it. It's an Austria-Japan friendship year, by the way. If you don't plan to fly there this season, do join us here! We're the next best thing.
APRIL ADVENTURE
We owe a great vote of thanks to the Ambassadors of six Oceanian Island nations -- Papua New Guinea, Palau, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Kiribati -- for coming to the rescue of our April 17 concert! Special thanks go to His Excellency Amb. Michael Maue, Dean of the Corps of Ambassadors, who introduced the six from the Oji Hall stage prior to taking their seats among the audience, and to His Excellency Amb. Jiba Kabua, who first introduced us into their circle.
We had been unable to put necessary sponsorship supports under the programme planned for that date, and very regretfully concluded that we had to cancel it. And we did. Ambassadors who know the Tokyo Sinfonia then proposed that I arrange the national anthems of the six Oceanian Island nations and perform them for the first time in a special programme for an invited audience on the date we had relinquished. That decision was taken the second week of April, only nine days before the concert. Then we had to scramble.
Each of the six Embassies received a number of tickets for their VIPs. Due to the shortage of leadtime we announced that others interested in the concert could purchase tickets at half-price. On the musical side, we had to reorganise the players, many of whom has already rearranged their schedules, and to completely redesign the musical programme. I also had to create special orchestra arrangements for the six national anthems.
Actually, I wound up writing each new arrangement twice, as for each work I sought ways to variously enhance the harmony, rhythm, meter or musical decoration in hopes to make the arrangement sound more attractive. We presented the first versions at the opening of the programme and the revised versions at its conclusion, embracing a Sinfonia sampler of works by the six most frequently performed composers. His Excellency Amb. John Fritz wrote us afterward:
"Music is an important tool of diplomacy. I am honored to have my national anthem played in a very different way of music -- so beautiful and awesome."
We were very, very impressed at the power of the Embassies to draw a large and enthusiastic audience. We usually attract a large audience to our Oji Hall concerts, but this is the first time for us to experience an overflow. I understand that about 40 people came for whom there were not enough seats left in the hall. Many elected to listen to the performance on the television monitor in the lobby. At least they were able to be first in line for post-concert champagne in the lobby with the Ambassadors, the Orchestra, and the capacity audience. And we promise them special invitations to our next Oji Hall concert in June.
NEWS NUGGETS
Minato-ku has renewed our Operations Grant in support of the Tokyo Sinfonia's Symphonies for Strings series in Oji Hall at the Platinum Sponsor level. This is greatly encouraging to us, doubly so in the current economy.
Yasuko Idee has agreed to became a member of the Friends of the Tokyo Sinfonia with a donation of ¥50,000. Yasuko is a great lover of music and a splendid supporter of the Tokyo Sinfonia. Many thanks, Yasuko!
Let it be known too that we are looking for someone who sees the special features of the Tokyo Sinfonia to join our sales team and help generate more performances in Tokyo and nearby cities. There is so much we can do, and we have just scratched the surface.
See you at the Sinfonia!
With every good wish from
Robert Ryker and the Tokyo Sinfonia
COMING EVENTS
Tokyo Sinfonia in June (6/13): "Symphonies for Strings" champagne concert
DVORAK SERENADE
Symphony for Strings in E-flat Major, from Op. 87 (first performance)
Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22
Nocturne
Champagne reception
Oji Hall (Ginza)
Tickets: 2 or more ￥5,500 each; Single ￥6,000; 4-concert subscriptions ￥20,000
Project grant Minato-ku, Gold sponsor JMEC, Supported by the Czech Embassy
Information/Tickets for all programmes:
tickets@tokyosinfonia.com
(03) 3588 0738
www.tokyosinfonia.com
Comments
Clarinet Concert Cancelled, next concert in May
Monday, Mar 16 2009 22:47 | Permalink
Bruckner Serenade
Monday, Mar 2 2009 05:13 | Permalink
"Anton Bruckner arrives in Heaven". Bruckner is greeted by (from left to right): Liszt, Wagner, Schubert, Schumann, Weber, Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck, Haydn, Handel, Bach. (Silhouette drawing by Otto Böhler)
BRUCKNER SERENADE (3/13), 19.00, Oji Hall (Ginza)
Tickets
The next event of the Tokyo Sinfonia's "Symphonies for Strings" champagne concerts is our Bruckner Serenade in Oji Hall (Ginza) Friday evening, March 13. The concert programme will be followed by champagne with the artists, one of the hallmarks of Tokyo Sinfonia main concerts.
The programme features music by the Austrian giant, Anton Bruckner. What is it about Anton Bruckner (1824-96) that gives his music its deep spirituality, awesome dimensions and undeniable grandeur? He was after all a product of rural Austria, and a naïve, unsophisticatsed man lacking in social skills. Insecure in his musical formation, he continued the formal study of counterpoint and the compositions of other composers until his fortieth year. Only than did he feel ready at last to begin work on the first versions of a string of continually revised and re-revised symphonies and masses. But he was a magnificently great organist and a simple, pious soul whose humble conception of his musical creativity was rooted in his inspiration from and dedication to God.
Buckner's only acknowledged piece of chamber music is a 1879 String Quintet, a monumental masterwork neglected and all but forgotten in the chamber music repertoire. It will be performed in the Tokyo Sinfonia's special arrangement for full string orchestra as Symphony for Strings in F Major. This will be its first performance. Other works on the programme are the Overture in G Minor and 4 Orchestra Pieces, early works written as preparation for the string of great symphonies Bruckner was then, at age 40, about to commence.
The "Symphonies for Strings" series, now in its second year, presents masterworks rescued from obscurity in the chamber music repertoire and brought to vibrant life on the concert stage. The gorgeous sound of the 19 strings of the Tokyo Sinfonia is featured in the brilliant arrangements which are a distinctive feature of the orchestra's programming.
TOKYO SINFONIA IN MARCH: "Symphonies for Strings" champagne concert, Oji Hall (Ginza)
BRUCKNER SERENADE - 3/13
Tickets: 2 or more ￥5,500 each; Single ￥6,000; 4-concert subscriptions ￥20,000
Symphony for Strings in F Major (first performance)
Four Orchestral Pieces
Overture in G Minor
Champagne reception
Project grant Minato-ku, Operations grant Rohm Music Foundation
An Austria-Japan Friendship Year 2009 event
We do recommend subscriptions to you for any four consecutive dates starting anytime in the FCCJ Dinner-concert series. In additional to a slightly reduced ticket price, our subscribers are guaranteed reserved seating at the centre section, personal recognitions, and reception and other benefits. Should you need extra tickets for occasional guests, your subscriber's discount will always be applied and your guests will be accorded the same VIP treatment.
All in all, our Bruckner Serenade promises to be an inspirational evening out to relax and recharge the emotional batteries ,and remind yourself that the world is indeed full of genuine beauty. Enjoy it with a friend; even better, with a group of friends. For tickets by mail, payment may be made by bank transfer to Mitsui-Sumitomo Bank Akasaka Branch Ordinary Account 8549626 Tokyo Sinfonia (三井住友銀行赤坂支店 普通8549626). Kindly email us at tickets@tokyosinfonia.com, phone us at (03) 3588 0738, or order online at tokyosinfonia.com Do join us.
See you at the Sinfonia!
With every good wish from
Robert Ryker and the Tokyo Sinfonia
Coming events
TOKYO SINFONIA IN APRIL: "Sinfonia Plus" champagne concert, Oji Hall (Ginza)
CLARINET SERENADE - 4/17
Tickets: 2 or more ￥5,500 each; Single ￥6,000; 4-concert subscription ￥25,000
Concerto in B Minor for Clarinet & Strings, from Op. 115 (Brahms) - Kalman Berkes, Clarinet solo
Concerto in E-flat Major for Clarinet & Strings, Op. 34 (Weber) - Kalman Berkes, Clarinet solo
Variations on a Hungarian Folksong (Kodaly)
Champagne reception
Gold sponsor JMEC
A Hungary-Japan Friendship Year 2009 event
TOKYO SINFONIA IN MAY: FCCJ dinner-concert, Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (Yurakucho)
AUSTRIAN SERENADE - 5/22
Table tickets: 2 or more ￥8,445 each; Single ￥9,335; 4-concert subscriptions ￥33,000
Symphony No. 5 (Schubert)
Violin Concerto No. 5 (Mozart) - Keiko Kawamata, Violin solo
Symphony No. 5 (Haydn)
3-course traditional Austrian dinner
An Austria-Japan Friendship Year 2009 event
TOKYO SINFONIA IN JUNE: "Symphonies for Strings" champagne concert, Oji Hall (Ginza)
DVORAK SERENADE - 6/13
Tickets: 2 or more ￥5,500 each; Single ￥6,000; 4-concert subscriptions ￥20,000
Symphony for Strings in E-flat Major, from the Quintet (first performance)
Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22
Nocturne
Champagne reception
Information/Tickets for all programmes:
tickets@tokyosinfonia.com
(03) 3588 0738
www.tokyosinfonia.com
