No.she052April 10, 2025
Suntory Hall Chamber Music Garden 2025
June 7-22, 2025
Founded in 2011, Suntory Hall Chamber Music Garden (CMG), is now recognised as Japan’s largest chamber music festival. Featuring chamber music in all forms and sizes, CMG takes place every June in the intimate space of the Blue Rose (Small Hall) where the audience can experience chamber music up close. This year, a total of 19 concerts will take place over 16 days (June 7-22), including the complete Beethoven String Quartet Cycle, a central feature of the festival.
Every year, the festival opens with a concert produced and performed by the hall’s President and cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. This year, he brings three promising young cellists, Michiaki Ueno, Yo Kitamura, and Tatsuki Sasanuma, in a gorgeous programme of cello ensemble ranging from duos, trios and quartets (June 7).
This year’s Beethoven String Quartet Cycle will be performed by Schumann Quartett from Germany (June 11-18). Formed of the three brothers, Mark, Erik, and Ken Schumann and violist Veit Hertenstein, their performances have been praised for the “fire and energy” and “sparkling virtuosity”. They have divided the quartets into six groups by theme, each highlighting a different aspect of Beethoven’s musical evolution, from the “exuberant optimism of his early quartets to the profound depths of his late string quartets”.
Making its first visit to Japan is the Israeli Chamber Project, a dynamic chamber ensemble based in New York and Israel (June 19, 21). Comprising strings, winds, harp and piano, the versatile group presents a mélange of works over two concerts, from intimate duos and trios to a new chamber ensemble arrangement of Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony joined by guest Japanese players.
Making a welcome return is the Hedenborg Trio from Vienna, who first appeared at the CMG in 2017. The three brothers, Wilfried, Bernhard and Julian, will bring lively dialogue and intimacy to Beethoven’s “Archduke” Trio and Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 2 (June 20).
Following on from last year, CMG will feature Schoenberg’s extraordinary Pierrot Lunaire for the second year running, this time produced by pianist Tomoki Kitamura. Together with soprano Saki Nakae and colleagues, he has devised an imaginative programme that combines Schoenberg’s expressionist song cycle with Debussy’s songs and cello sonata (June 16).
“Precious 1pm” is a popular series of weekday lunchtime concerts with talks by the artists from the stage. Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Michie Koyama will perform the sonatas of Chopin and Brahms (June 13), and Naoko Yoshino (harp) will pair up with Berlin Philharmonic principal harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet (June 20) for a dazzling duo of harps.
CMG is a great showcase for the fellows and alumni of the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy. Prominent alumni, Aoi Trio continues with its highly popular seven-year project for the CMG, combining each of Beethoven’s piano trios with diverse repertoire. Now in its fifth year, Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio is combined with trios by Martinů and Shostakovich (June 13). They will also take part in the CMG Finale (June 22).
Another recent alumni, Quartet Integra, currently Ensemble in Residence at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, teams up with esteemed pianist and Academy coaching faculty Shigeo Neriki (June 7). They perform two great masterpieces for the piano quintet by Schumann and Brahms.
The “ENJOY! Concerts by Chamber Music Academy Fellows”, held on Saturday mornings, feature six current ensembles of the Academy (June 14, 21). Star flutist Seiya Ueno will join them on June 14. Selected fellows will also take part in the CMG Finale.
CMG continues to cater for a diverse audience by having concerts at different times of the day, and it features a strong line-up of world-class musicians across the generations. From chamber music beginners to connoisseurs, there is plenty for everyone to enjoy at Chamber Music Garden.
More details can be found at the following:
https://www.suntory.com/culture-sports/suntoryhall/article/detail/001624.html
For further information and press photos, please contact:
suntoryhall-pr@suntory.co.jp
Public Relations, Suntory Hall
Website: http://suntory.jp/HALL-e/
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