Suntory Hall's 30th Anniversary Celebrations

15 November 2016
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The MCO and Artistic Partner Mitsuko Uchida celebrated the 30th anniversary of Tokyo’s Suntory Hall with a three-concert residency, complemented by further concerts in Sapporo, Osaka and Toyota as part of an extensive Japanese tour. 

Over the course of 18 days, the MCO gave eight concerts in four cities. The MCO was met with a warm welcome on all stops of the tour, which included sold-out concerts at Suntory Hall. Time and time again, the MCO inspired audiences through its chamber music style of music-making – not only in two orchestral programmes with Mitsuko Uchida, but also in chamber music concerts in Sapporo and Tokyo. 

A selection of Mozart’s piano concertos, which formed the core of the orchestral programmes on this Japan tour, reflect the continued focus of the MCO’s collaboration with Mitsuko Uchida. The first programme paired Mozart’s Piano Concertos K. 453 and K. 503 with Bartók’s Divertimento for String Orchestra. In the second programme, Takemitsu’s Requiem for String Orchestra was framed by Mozart’s Piano Concertos K. 459 and K. 466.  

Mozart with Mitsuko Uchida plays a historically significant role in Suntory Hall’s 30th anniversary celebrations: in 1986, Mitsuko Uchida – a Suntory Hall Associate Artist – performed the complete cycle of Mozart’s piano concertos during its inaugural season. 30 years later, the MCO is honoured to have accompanied Mitsuko in performing these works in this context.  

In Sapporo and Tokyo, musicians of the MCO performed a chamber music programme featuring works by Mozart, Takemitsu, Schubert and Mendelssohn. This programme, which was developed together with Mitsuko Uchida, highlights both the MCO’s chamber music quality of music making and MCO musicians’ agility in traversing musical forms. 

At the end of November, the MCO and Mitsuko Uchida will bring their Mozart and Bartók programme to major cities in Europe. The concerts will take place in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw (22 November), Rotterdam’s De Doelen (23 November), Dortmund’s Konzerthaus (25 November), Berlin’s Konzerthaus (27 November) and London’s Royal Festival Hall (29 November).

Photos: Geoffroy Schied

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