Friday, Jan 29 2010 07:06 | Permalink
PLAUDITS
Our just-completed Mozart Birthday Serenade on Wednesday 27th January was a musical treat for all, and Tchaikovsky prize-winning soloist Sara Buechner was marvelous to work with. From her, we heard, "The spirit of your concerts is really wonderful ... a total delight. You are doing special things with the Tokyo Sinfonia, and I am glad to have been a part of that." -- Sara
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TOKYO SINFONIA IN FEBRUARY 2010
We are looking forward to our return (2月19日) to the high aerie of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, overlooking the gardens of the Imperial Palace from the top floor of the Yurakucho Denki Building. Our Russian Serenade continues our long-running series of FCCJ Dinner-concerts. The past several weeks seem to have been sprinkled with unusually cold days and nights -- unusually cold at least for Tokyo. The Russian Serenade seems timely and fitting, therefore, to give us the sense of a people who really know how to live with the wintry months, embrace them, thrive in them.
Let me mention first the traditional Russian menu served in three well-spaced courses during the evening. Girding the inner man for the elements, Executive Chef Paul Dodd has programmed beetroot cured salmon with horseradish cream and petite salad as a starter. Following the opening music, you will then savour the main course of sautéed pork fillet with braised cabbage navet, pearl onions and parsley potatoes with caper and pickle sauce. And for dessert, just imagine the delight of Charlotte Russe with raspberries.
Our music is, I believe, equally representative of the great diversity of Russia, compellingly attractive for its variety of rusticity, elegance and tradition. For the first, opening the musical programme (following the starter course), I offer you the rustic character of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sinfonietta on Russian Themes, which I believe may appeal especially to the men in the audience. The favourite among the ladies may well be Tchaikovsky’s elegant and very charming Suite No. 4, set in the sensuous sound of the strings, our main work. It has a subtitle which I will explain to you at the time; you will understand immediately Tchaikovsky's inspiration. And for our musical dessert, Mussorgsky’s music from Khovatchina is perhaps most deeply evocative of traditional Russia. The music has a special magic to melt the heart and beguile the mind.
By the way, you can subscribe to this series (quarterly), and thus be guaranteed of centre-table seating, a somewhat reduced price, and a highly distinctive and thoroughly enjoyable evening out with friends and, well, more friends.
RUSSIAN SERENADE
Friday 2010年2月19日(金)
Tickets: Group ￥8,445 each; Single ￥9,335; 4-concert subscriptions ￥33,000
Rimsky-Korsakov, Sinfonietta on Russian Themes, Op. 31
Tchaikovsky, Suite No. 4 in G Major, Op. 61 (Mozartiana)
Mussorgsky, Introduction, Intermezzo & Persian Dance from Khovantchina
3-course traditional Russian dinner
******************** RESERVE YOUR CONCERT TICKET ********************
Enjoy the Tokyo Sinfonia with a friend; even better, with a group of friends. Kindly email us at tickets@tokyosinfonia.com or phone us at (03) 3588 0738.
You can also order online at www.tokyosinfonia.com
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TOKYO SINFONIA IN MARCH 2010
The programme for our March champagne concert (3月5日) features the music of Schumann, the inspired pianist/composer/critic of the early romantic era. Schumann was driven by his genius -- driven even to the point of insanity. He was a staunch defender of the music of his great colleagues and passionately opposed to music created only to pander to the lowest public taste. The inner energy of his music has always thrilled me.
Schumann had orginally determined to dominate the concert stage as a virtuoso pianist. Permanently laming his hand in his excess, he was obliged to abandon the stage. All of his compositions were nonetheless created at the piano, even those which later acquired orchestra dress. The works which caught my attention were indeed originally conceived at piano, hence the entire evening's programme again consists of our very special arrangements for the 19 strings of the Tokyo Sinfonia.
The performance does indeed come soon on the heels of the coming Russian Serenade, but let me describe it to you the next time I write.
Immediately following the performance, you are always invited to mingle with the artists of the Tokyo Sinfonia and enjoy the sparkling champagne and Belgian chocolates which await in the lobby. Juice is provided too for students who have heard the Tokyo Sinfonia perform in their schools (our future audience) and have come to hear us again. Audience members may also encounter product samples of the world's most expensive toothpaste, thanks to the generosity of Apagard.
All that, and Schumann's romantic music too. Do join us.
SCHUMANN SERENADE
Friday 2010年3月5日(金)
Tickets: Group ￥5,500 each; Single ￥6,000; 4-concert subscriptions ￥20,000
Symphony for Strings in F Minor, Op. 14 (first performance)
Fantasy for Violin & Strings in C Major, Op. 131 - Mika Hasegawa, violin solo
Andante and Variations in B-flat Major, Op. 46
Champagne reception
To reserve tickets for any of our concert events kindly email us at tickets@tokyosinfonia.com or phone us at (03) 3588 0738, and you can order online at www.tokyosinfonia.com
See you at the Sinfonia!
Robert Ryker
and the Tokyo Sinfonia
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