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News release

No.she018October 24, 2019

WIENER PHILHARMONIKER WEEK IN JAPAN 2019
Daiwa House Special
Christian Thielemann / Andrés Orozco-Estrada conduct Wiener Philharmoniker
– 150 Years Friendship Japan-Austria –

Suntory Hall hosts Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan 2019 in November. Founded in 1842, the internationally renowned orchestra is closely linked with the rich musical history and tradition of Vienna, and it continues to attract audiences all over the world with its unique and incomparable sound.

Since 1999, Suntory Hall has been hosting Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan, an annual residency that gives Japanese audiences a regular opportunity to enjoy this distinguished orchestra. This year’s edition, the seventeenth, features not one but two maestros at the helm: Christian Thielemann, the revered Principal Conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle and Artistic Director of the Salzburg Easter Festival, and the increasingly in demand Andrés Orozco-Estrada, who currently holds music directorships of the Houston Symphony and the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony). Thielemann’s previous visit to Japan with the Wiener Philharmoniker was six years ago, whereas it will be Orozco-Estrada’s first appearance with them in this country.

Following the success of last year’s opening concert – Special Chamber Music Concert – this year’s Wiener Philharmoniker Week will open with a special programme celebrating “150 Years Friendship Japan-Austria” (November 5). Thielemann will conduct a selection of popular Viennese waltzes and operetta numbers as he did in this year’s New Year’s Concert.

Furthermore, there are three orchestral concerts (November 11, 13, 15). In the concerto programme (November 13), conducted by Orozco-Estrada, acclaimed pianist Yefim Bronfman will perform Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, followed by Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”. Thielemann conducts two orchestra-only programmes: Bruckner’s mighty Symphony No. 8 (November 11), and a delightful programme that combines Richard Strauss’s works (“Don Juan”, “Rosenkavalier Suite” etc.) with music of the Viennese Strauss family (November 15).

As in previous years, there are education and outreach events including a tuba masterclass by the Paul Hawlax (November 12), a free open rehearsal (November 11) and a school programme (November 13).

The Wiener Philharmoniker has built close ties with Japan, and after the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011, the orchestra offered a donation of one million euros to help people recover from the disaster. The Suntory Group matched the amount and set up “The Vienna Philharmonic and Suntory Music Aid Fund”, which continues to provide support through music in the Tohoku region as well as in Kumamoto.

Furthermore, to coincide with Wiener Philharmoniker Week, Suntory Hall hosts two exhibitions in the Ascot Hall of Hotel Okura Tokyo (November 2-17). One is an exhibition from the Archive-Library-Collection of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien focusing on “Nineteenth-century Vienna and Japan”, and the other a photographic exhibition of backstage portraits of Wiener Philharmoniker players taken by Katsuhiro Ichikawa during previous Japan tours. There will also be talks and gallery concerts.

For further information and press photos, please contact: suntoryhall-pr@suntory.co.jp
Public Relations, Suntory Hall

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