This year’s producer is Irvine Arditti, violinist extraordinaire, contemporary music specialist, and founder leader of the legendary Arditti Quartet, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Over three chamber music concerts, the quartet will perform no fewer than nine works dedicated to them, including premieres of new commissioned works from Hilda Paredes and Toshio Hosokawa in which they will be joined by Japanese pianist, Tomoki Kitamura. The Orchestra Concert, performed by Brad Lubman and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, will feature two works for String Quartet and Orchestra (Hosokawa and Philippe Manoury, who is also the Theme Composer of the Summer Festival 2024), as well as two large-scale works by Yannis Xenakis including Dox-Orkh for Violin Solo and 89 Musicians (1991) with Arditti as soloist.
➡ Changing the face of modern music: Irvine Arditti on the Arditti Quartet at 50 (by Tim Rutherford-Johnson, The classical music website "bachtrack")

■Chamber Music Concert 1　> Book Now
Thu, AUG 22 19:00 Blue Rose (Small Hall)
Toru Takemitsu: A Way a Lone for String Quartet (1980)
Jonathan Harvey: String Quartet No. 1 (1977)
Toshio Hosokawa: Oreksis for Piano and String Quartet (2023) [Japanese Premiere, commissioned by Suntory Hall and Arditti Quartet]
Helmut Lachenmann: String Quartet No. 3, “Grido” (2000/01)

String Quartet Arditti Quartet
　1st Violin: Irvine Arditti
　2nd Violin: Ashot Sarkissjan
　Viola: Ralf Ehlers
　Cello: Lucas Fels
Piano Tomoki Kitamura

■Chamber Music Concert 2　> Book Now
Sun, AUG 25 15:00 Blue Rose (Small Hall)
Elliott Carter: String Quartet No. 5 (1995)
Naoki Sakata: String Quartet [World Premiere, commissioned by Suntory Hall] (2024)
Akira Nishimura: String Quartet No. 5, “Shesha” (2013)
Harrison Birtwistle: String Quartet, “The Tree of Strings” (2017)

String Quartet Arditti Quartet

■Chamber Music Concert 3　> Book Now
Sun, AUG 25 19:00 Blue Rose (Small Hall)
Brian Ferneyhough: String Quartet No. 3 (1986-87)
James Clarke: String Quartet No. 5 (2020)
Roger Reynolds: Ariadne’s Thread* (1994)
Hilda Paredes: Piano Quintet [World Premiere, commissioned by Suntory Hall] (2024)
Iannis Xenakis: Tetras for String Quartet (1983)

String Quartet Arditti Quartet
Piano Tomoki Kitamura
Electronics Sumihisa Arima*

■Orchestra Program　> Book Now
Thu, AUG 29 19:00 Main Hall
Toshio Hosokawa: Fluss ― Ich wollt’, ich wäre ein Fluss und Du das Meer for String Quartet and Orchestra (2014)
Iannis Xenakis: Tuorakemsu for 90 Musicians (1990)
Iannis Xenakis: Dox-Orkh for Violin Solo and 89 Musicians* (1991)
Philippe Manoury: Melencolia-Figuren for String Quartet and Orchestra (2013)

Violin Irvine Arditti*
String Quartet Arditti Quartet
Conductor Brad Lubman
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra

The Theme Composer series presents a portrait of a leading international composer, and commissions him/her a new orchestral work that is premiered during the festival. This year’s theme composer is Philippe Manoury (b.1952), who is regarded as one of the most important French composers as well as a researcher and forerunner in the field of electronics. The two concerts will showcase his diverse output from ensemble works to music featuring live electronics, and orchestral works with spatial arrangement of the musicians.
Manoury will also give a Music Composition Workshop for young composers, preceded by a Talk Session with Toshio Hosokawa and eminent composer and pianist Ichiro Nodaira, Manoury’s long-time colleague.
Exploring New Sound Horizon — On the Visionary French Composer Philippe Manoury and His Bold Ideas for the Future of the Orchestra (by Gavin Dixon)

■Orchestra Portrait (Commissioned Work Program) 　> Book Now　
Fri, AUG 23 19:00 Main Hall
Pierre Boulez: Notations for Orchestra (1978-2004)
Philippe Manoury: Présences for Spatialized Large Orchestra (2024) [World Premiere, commissioned by Suntory Hall]
Claude Debussy (arr. Philippe Manoury): Rêve (arr. for Orchestra) (1883/2011)
Francesca Verunelli: Tune and Retune II for Orchestra (2019-20)
Claude Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1891-94)

Conductor Brad Lubman
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

■Music Composition Workshop and Talk Session　> Book Now
Mon, AUG 26 19:00 Blue Rose (Small Hall)
Part 1 Philippe Manoury × Toshio Hosokawa Talk Session
　Guest: Ichiro Nodaira
Part 2 Workshop by Call for Scores

■Chamber Music Portrait　> Book Now　
Tue, AUG 27 19:00 Blue Rose (Small Hall)
Philippe Manoury:
String Quartet No. 4, “Fragmenti” (2015)
Hypothèses du sextuor for 6 Instruments (2011)
Illud etiam for Soprano and Electronics in Real Time (2012)
Das Wohlpräparierte Klavier (...troisième sonate...) for Piano and Live Electronics (2020)

　String Quartet Thaleia Quartet
　Flute Takako Imai Clarinet Kaori Tanaka
　Marimba Tomohiro Nishikubo Piano Hideki Nagano
　Violin Maiko Matsuoka Cello Kei Yamazawa
　Soprano Kanae Mizobuchi Electronics Shintaro Imai

This award is presented to the most notable orchestral work by a Japanese composer premiered during the previous year (January-December 2023). Following the performance of the three nominated works, the jury (Tokuhide Niimi, Misato Mochizuki, and Hiroyuki Yamamoto) will conduct the deliberations on stage in public. This year, orchestral works by Kento Ishikawa, Masashi Kawashima, and Koji Yamabe are nominated, which will be performed by the New Japan Philharmonic conducted by Yoichi Sugiyama. The concert will open with the world premiere of the commissioned work, Percussion Concerto by Yuya Haryu, the winner of the 2022 award. There will also be an opportunity for the public to vote for their favourite piece.

* Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award
This prize was established in April 1990 with the support of the Japan Federation of Composers, and celebrates the achievements of the late Yasushi Akutagawa (1925 – 89), who made significant contributions to the development of Western-style music in Japan in the post-war years.
This composition prize, the first of its kind in Japan, is a unique initiative aimed at up-and-coming composers creating orchestral works full of freshness and steeped in potential, with winners selected from among pieces premiered at public concerts.
This is a compound award, as composers winning the prize also receive a commission for a new orchestral work, with the first performance held two years thereafter. Prize money: ¥1,500,000/ Commission fee: ¥1,000,000.

■The 34th Competition of Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition　> Book Now
Sat, AUG 24 15:00 Main Hall
Yuya Haryu (2022 awardee): Percussion Concerto* [World Premiere, commissioned by Suntory Foundation for the Arts]

Nominated Works for the 34th Competition
　Kento Ishikawa: BRICOLA-JUGEMU (2023)
　Masashi Kawashima: e→e IV (2022)
　Koji Yamabe: Underscore (2022)

　Conductor Yoichi Sugiyama
　Percussion Tomo Ando*
　New Japan Philharmonic

Open Screening
　Jury: Tokuhide Niimi / Misato Mochizuki / Hiroyuki Yamamoto
　MC: Miyuki Shiraishi