No. she022January 13, 2021

SUNTORY HALL 35TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON 2021

In 2021, Suntory Hall (Minato-ku, Tokyo / President: Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi) will mark its 35th anniversary.

Opened on October 12, 1986, Suntory Hall was the first dedicated concert hall in Tokyo, based on the concept: "in pursuit of the world’s most beautiful sound". The hall has presented creative and high-quality programmes of performances, educational projects with the view of developing and passing on our musical culture to the next generation, and has implemented various initiatives to engage the public. It is a highly regarded venue by artists as well as music lovers both in Japan and internationally. Since its opening, it has held over 19,000 concerts and has been visited by 19.78 million people.*

*as of end Nov 2020

For its 35th anniversary, Suntory Hall will present a year-long programme of attractive and diverse performances by top artists. Highlights include a specially expanded edition of the annual chamber music festival "Suntory Hall Chamber Music Garden" in June, the annual "Suntory Hall Summer Festival" of contemporary music in August, "35th Anniversary Gala Concert", and the Hall Opera® production of Verdi’s La Traviata in October. The popular "Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan" will be led by Maestro Riccardo Muti, who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2021. Furthermore, the long-running "Subscription Concert for Children" series will feature the theme "Orchestral Time Machine".

To commemorate the 35th anniversary, the hall has created a special logo slogan, "The Home of Applause". This represents the warm applause that fills the auditorium, surrounding the musicians and bringing everyone together. The hall aims to be a place where dreams happen for both musicians and audience.

The hall’s latest initiative is a new global online platform, "Digital Suntory Hall", which is scheduled to launch in April 2021. This platform will enable people from all over the world to experience the venue and the concerts from the comfort of one’s own home, regardless of distance, time difference, or language.

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

Website: http://suntory.jp/HALL-e/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suntoryhall/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuntoryHallE

1. 35th Anniversary Logo Slogan
   Suntory Hall was the first concert hall in Japan to be built adopting the vineyard style, with the aim of pursuing the world’s most beautiful sound. The logo of the hall, which has been used since the opening, is based on the Chinese character "響 Hibiki" meaning "beautiful sound" or "resonance" (designed by Takenobu Igarashi).
   In the 35 years since the opening, the performances by world-class artists have always been embraced by the warm applause of the music-loving audience. This sense of unity between the performers and audience is not only of the moment, but also leads into the future. The hall aims to be a place where dreams are made. This is the idea behind the anniversary logo slogan, "The Home of Applause".
   

   

2. 35th Anniversary Season Summary
   Suntory Hall’s 35th Anniversary Season will open in April with the "Subscription Concert for Children", jointly presented by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Suntory Hall. Throughout the season, the hall will present a varied programme consisting of attractive and high quality projects.
   • 1) "Chamber Music Garden 2021" in June, celebrating its 10th anniversary
   • 2) "Summer Festival 2021" – the festival of contemporary music which represents the future of classical music
   • 3) "35th Anniversary Gala Concert" in the autumn, featuring top artists
   • 4) Hall Opera® production of Verdi’s La Traviata
   • 5) Annual visit by the world’s finest orchestra – "Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan 2021"
   • 6) 20th anniversary season of the "Subscription Concert for Children", jointly presented by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Suntory Hall.

   ■More information on the Anniversary Season

   • 1) Chamber Music Garden 2021
     June 6 – 27, 2021
     Chamber Music Garden (CMG) celebrates its 10th anniversary with a specially expanded programme. For the annual Beethoven String Quartet cycle, CMG welcomes the distinguished Jerusalem Quartet, which made its debut 25 years ago. Küchl Quartet and Hedenborg Trio, regulars to Suntory Hall, will bring a flavour of Vienna to the garden. Rising talents – the Schumann Quartet, Novus String Quartet, and Aoi Trio (2018 ARD Competition winner) – will appear in the "Brilliant Ensembles" series. In the "Fortepiano Kaleidoscope" concerts, people can enjoy the kaleidoscopic sonorities of four historical fortepianos in ensemble with string instruments and voice. Meanwhile, pianist Yu Kosuge produces two evenings of chamber music of Toru Takemitsu and his predecessors.
     Other highlights include the Brahms cello sonatas performed by the regular duo of Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (cello) and Michie Koyama (piano) in the Opening Concert, performances by Suntory Hall’s Chamber Music Academy fellows, the informal lunchtime concerts, and the all-star final concert. There will be a total of 28 concerts, and 7 of them will be live-streamed (paid).
   • 2) Summer Festival 2021
     August 22 – 28, 2021
     Held since 1987, the annual Summer Festival covers a wide range of contemporary music from chamber works to opera, and one can experience the latest in the contemporary music scene, including world premieres of Suntory Hall commissions and Japanese premieres. In the 2021 festival, "The Producer Series" features Ensemble InterContemporain from Paris, the leading ensemble in new music. Meanwhile, its music director, Matthias Pintscher, is this year’s "Theme Composer" (Suntory Hall International Program for Music Composition), and will also give a compositional workshop. Together, they will showcase the cutting edge in the international contemporary scene. The 31st "Competition of Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition" will also take place.
   • 3) Suntory Hall 35th Anniversary Gala Concert
     October 2, 2021
     The autumn gala concert celebrates the hall’s 35th anniversary with an attractive line-up of world-class artists. A social occasion in a festive atmosphere, the audience can feel at one with the musicians on stage and immerse themselves in the joy of music.
   • 4) Hall Opera® production of Verdi’s La Traviata
     October 7 & 9, 2021
     Hall Opera® was a new way of staging opera devised by Suntory Hall, and it has formed an important part of the hall’s history. In October 2021, Hall Opera® will present Verdi’s La Traviata, led by Italian conductor Nicola Luisotti, who has given many memorable performances in this series. The handpicked cast includes the internationally acclaimed tenor, Francesco Demuro, as Alfredo. The staging will be directed by Michiko Taguchi, who has had many years of experience in European opera houses. An additional performance will be presented by the talented Japanese cover cast (October 8).
     *Hall Opera®
     A new way of staging operas devised by Suntory Hall. The staging, sets and lighting make full use of the space and acoustics of the hall where the stage is surrounded by the audience, and the orchestra and the singers perform on the same stage.
   • 5) Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan 2021 – Riccardo Muti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic
     October 26 – November 12, 2021
     Suntory Hall has presented Vienna Philharmonic’s Japan Tour since 1999 and has built strong ties with the orchestra. On these tours, in addition to the regular concerts, there are also programmes for young people and masterclasses by principal players. Also, after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the Vienna Philharmonic and Suntory Group set up the "Vienna Philharmonic and Suntory Music Aid Fund" to help people recover from the disaster, and it continues to provide support through music. Last autumn, the orchestra hit the headlines when they successfully toured Japan despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
     The 2021 Japan Tour will be led by Maestro Riccardo Muti, who celebrates his 80th birthday this year. It is a culmination of the orchestra’s special season with the Maestro, which started with the live broadcast of the New Year’s Concert from Vienna’s Musikverein. In addition to the orchestral concerts, there will also be an evening of chamber music, which was highly popular in 2018.
   • 6) "Subscription Concert for Children 2021", jointly presented by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Suntory Hall.
     April 18, July 4, September 5, December 12, 2021
     2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the "Subscription Concert for Children" series. As the first orchestral subscription series for children in Japan, it was set up with the hope that through these concerts, children will acquire the habit of going to concerts from a young age. This year’s overall theme is "Orchestral Time Machine", and each concert will feature a different conductor (Naoto Otomo, Nodoka Okisawa, Tatsuya Shimono, Keitaro Harada) who will each illustrate the music of a particular period in the history of western music.
3. Launch of "Digital Suntory Hall"
   In April 2020, Suntory Hall was forced to close its doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and for three months it fell silent. When the hall resumed, it was through live-streamed performances that it was able to connect with its audience again. Fortunately, there was positive feedback from the viewers.
   In order to deliver music safely both during and post pandemic times, Suntory Hall will launch a new online platform, "Digital Suntory Hall", which will enable people from all over the world to explore the venue and experience the concerts from the comfort of one’s own home, regardless of distance, time difference, or language. The platform will contain online events, live streams, online shop, features, and archive. The launch is planned for April 2021.