The following article appeared on Feb 16 2017, and the text is preserved here for archival. The original article, in English, can be read here:
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003512227
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003512227
‘Untitled Concert’ to reach 2,500th installment
Japan News, Yomiuri Shimbun
By Yukiko Kishinami / Japan News Staff Writer“Daimei no Nai Ongakukai” (Untitled Concert), a popular classical music TV show, will reach its 2,500th installment on March 5.
Ahead of the milestone, the program will celebrate the achievement with two broadcasts of a concert performance filled with youthful exuberance, to be aired on Feb. 19 and 26.
The 30-minute program is broadcast on the TV Asahi network from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. every Sunday and repeated from 11 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. the following Sunday on BS Asahi.
The weekly show was first aired in August 1964. In 2009, it was acknowledged by the Guinness World Records as the world’s longest-running classical music TV program.
The show has introduced classical music to a wider audience thanks largely to the friendly and inclusive manner of its hosts. Presented by composer Toshiro Mayuzumi in its first 33 years, subsequent hosts have included illustrious musicians, including composer Kentaro Haneda and conductor Yutaka Sado, and other well-known TV personalities.
The current host, violinist Ryu Goto, is the youngest person to present the show — he replaced Sado in 2015 when he was 27. Goto is the younger brother of violinist Midori Goto, the equally gifted musician known internationally simply by her first name. Compared to previous presenters, who were all eloquent hosts, Goto is soft-spoken but has added youthfulness and a fresh perspective to the show. TV Asahi announcer Yumiko Matsuo serves as Goto’s copresenter.
The performances for the two specials were recorded on Feb. 2 at Suntory Hall in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and featured some of classical music’s budding stars. The packed audience included classical music lovers who won tickets for the event. The theme of the concert was “update.”
Organist Masato Suzuki opened the Feb. 19 program, setting the festive mood by playing Bach’s Prelude for organ in E-flat major from the Clavier-Ubung III on the venue’s pipe organ.
Andrea Battistoni, the young chief conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, took the baton for the fourth movement from Beethoven’s Symophony No. 9 “Choral.” The four soloists, soprano Ai Ichihara, mezzo-soprano Kasumi Shimizu, tenor Satoshi Nishimura and baritone Kei Yonashiro, were joined by the New National Theatre Chorus.
Pioneering projection mapping artist Bart Kresa added visual glamour to the symphony’s performance, with colorful, ever-changing images displayed on the pipe organ above the stage.
Up-and-coming soloists
The second half of the concert, which will be broadcast on Feb. 26, featured a dozen up-and-coming classical music stars. The young Japanese instrumentalists are all prize-winners of prestigious music competitions and are steadily developing their careers as soloists. Among them are pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, who won the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, violinist Shion Minami, the second-prize winner in the Long-Thibaud Competition in 2005, and cellist Dai Miyata, the winner of the ninth Rostropovich Cello Competition in 2009. Most of the performers are also recipients of the Idemitsu Music Award, an annual award given to promising young musicians by Idemitsu Kosan Co., the sole sponsor of the TV show.
The second half of the performance included fitting pieces for the youthful musicians: the fourth movement from the String Octet by Mendelssohn, written when the composer was 16, and the sprightly third movement from Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, written when he was 20. The Mendelssohn octet was a rare treat for the audience, as it is not often performed due to its need for two string quartets.
Switching his mic for his instrument, Goto joined the violin section for the Chopin concerto with Tsujii as soloist. It was the first-ever joint performance by Goto and Tsujii, both aged 28 and two of the country’s most beloved classical musicians from the younger generation. The conductor was Kentaro Kawase.
The orchestral part of the concerto was arranged for a string ensemble by Hideaki Hagimori. It was refreshing to hear the famous piano concerto with a chamber music arrangement.
“There’s never been an opportunity like this for this group of members to perform together,” Goto said of the ensemble. “They’re building their careers as soloists but I think it’s great that this time they’re all supporting Mr. Tsujii.”
Tsujii said: “I’m glad I could play with people from my generation. From the rehearsal [to the performance] they have been wonderful — youthful and energetic.”
At the end of the concert, the audience was entertained by a lively encore by Goto and Tsujii playing Gershwin’s Prelude No. 1 in an arrangement for piano and violin.
The celebratory performance by the young musicians assured music fans that classical music will be in safe hands for years to come.
Visit www.tv-asahi.co.jp/daimei/ for more information on the show.
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RELATED ARTICLE
Nobuyuki Tsujii on Feb 26 2017 "Untitled Concert" TV show
Ahead of the milestone, the program will celebrate the achievement with two broadcasts of a concert performance filled with youthful exuberance, to be aired on Feb. 19 and 26.
The 30-minute program is broadcast on the TV Asahi network from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. every Sunday and repeated from 11 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. the following Sunday on BS Asahi.
The weekly show was first aired in August 1964. In 2009, it was acknowledged by the Guinness World Records as the world’s longest-running classical music TV program.
The show has introduced classical music to a wider audience thanks largely to the friendly and inclusive manner of its hosts. Presented by composer Toshiro Mayuzumi in its first 33 years, subsequent hosts have included illustrious musicians, including composer Kentaro Haneda and conductor Yutaka Sado, and other well-known TV personalities.
The current host, violinist Ryu Goto, is the youngest person to present the show — he replaced Sado in 2015 when he was 27. Goto is the younger brother of violinist Midori Goto, the equally gifted musician known internationally simply by her first name. Compared to previous presenters, who were all eloquent hosts, Goto is soft-spoken but has added youthfulness and a fresh perspective to the show. TV Asahi announcer Yumiko Matsuo serves as Goto’s copresenter.
The performances for the two specials were recorded on Feb. 2 at Suntory Hall in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and featured some of classical music’s budding stars. The packed audience included classical music lovers who won tickets for the event. The theme of the concert was “update.”
Organist Masato Suzuki opened the Feb. 19 program, setting the festive mood by playing Bach’s Prelude for organ in E-flat major from the Clavier-Ubung III on the venue’s pipe organ.
Andrea Battistoni, the young chief conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, took the baton for the fourth movement from Beethoven’s Symophony No. 9 “Choral.” The four soloists, soprano Ai Ichihara, mezzo-soprano Kasumi Shimizu, tenor Satoshi Nishimura and baritone Kei Yonashiro, were joined by the New National Theatre Chorus.
Pioneering projection mapping artist Bart Kresa added visual glamour to the symphony’s performance, with colorful, ever-changing images displayed on the pipe organ above the stage.
Up-and-coming soloists
The second half of the concert, which will be broadcast on Feb. 26, featured a dozen up-and-coming classical music stars. The young Japanese instrumentalists are all prize-winners of prestigious music competitions and are steadily developing their careers as soloists. Among them are pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, who won the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, violinist Shion Minami, the second-prize winner in the Long-Thibaud Competition in 2005, and cellist Dai Miyata, the winner of the ninth Rostropovich Cello Competition in 2009. Most of the performers are also recipients of the Idemitsu Music Award, an annual award given to promising young musicians by Idemitsu Kosan Co., the sole sponsor of the TV show.
The second half of the performance included fitting pieces for the youthful musicians: the fourth movement from the String Octet by Mendelssohn, written when the composer was 16, and the sprightly third movement from Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, written when he was 20. The Mendelssohn octet was a rare treat for the audience, as it is not often performed due to its need for two string quartets.
Switching his mic for his instrument, Goto joined the violin section for the Chopin concerto with Tsujii as soloist. It was the first-ever joint performance by Goto and Tsujii, both aged 28 and two of the country’s most beloved classical musicians from the younger generation. The conductor was Kentaro Kawase.
The orchestral part of the concerto was arranged for a string ensemble by Hideaki Hagimori. It was refreshing to hear the famous piano concerto with a chamber music arrangement.
“There’s never been an opportunity like this for this group of members to perform together,” Goto said of the ensemble. “They’re building their careers as soloists but I think it’s great that this time they’re all supporting Mr. Tsujii.”
Tsujii said: “I’m glad I could play with people from my generation. From the rehearsal [to the performance] they have been wonderful — youthful and energetic.”
At the end of the concert, the audience was entertained by a lively encore by Goto and Tsujii playing Gershwin’s Prelude No. 1 in an arrangement for piano and violin.
The celebratory performance by the young musicians assured music fans that classical music will be in safe hands for years to come.
Visit www.tv-asahi.co.jp/daimei/ for more information on the show.
----
RELATED ARTICLE
Nobuyuki Tsujii on Feb 26 2017 "Untitled Concert" TV show