BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND MUSIC DIRECTOR ANDRIS NELSONS
TO EMBARK ON FIRST JAPAN TOUR TOGETHER,
NOVEMBER 3-9, 2017
ANDRIS NELSONS TO LEAD THE BSO IN A 4-CITY, 6-CONCERT TOUR WITH STOPS IN NAGOYA (11/3), OSAKA (11/4), AND KAWASAKI (11/5), AS WELL AS THREE CONCERTS IN TOKYO, PRESENTED BY SUNTORY HALL (11/7,8,&9)
TOUR PROGRAMS TO FEATURE WORLD-RENOWNED VIOLINIST GIL SHAHAM PERFORMING TCHAIKOVSKY'S VIOLIN CONCERTO; ADDITIONAL TOUR REPERTOIRE INCLUDES MAHLER'S SYMPHONY NO. 1; RACHMANINOFF'S SYMPHONY NO. 2; SHOSTAKOVICH'S SYMPHONY NO. 11, THE YEAR 1905, AND HAYDN'S SYMPHONY NO. 103, DRUMROLL, AS WELL AS MOZART'S CONCERTO FOR FLUTE AND HARP WITH THE BSO'S OWN PRINCIPAL FLUTE ELIZABETH ROWE AND PRINCIPAL HARP JESSICA ZHOU
Click here to view an online press kit with a BSO history, concert listing, photos, and artist bios
Andris Nelsons will lead his first tour to Japan as Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducting the famed ensemble in a 4-city, 6-concert tour with performances in NTK Hall (Nagoya City Hall, 11/3), Osaka's Festival Hall (11/4), and Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall (11/5), as well as three concerts in Tokyo, presented by Suntory Hall (11/7, 8, and 9). Returning to Japan is also a particularly momentous occasion for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which has toured the country eight times, including six highly acclaimed tours under BSO Music Director Laureate Seiji Ozawa (BSO Music Director 1973-2002).
For their upcoming tour to Japan, Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra are pleased to present Gil Shaham as soloist in Tchaikovsky's beloved violin concerto on a program with Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in Nagoya and Kawasaki on November 3 and 5, and with Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905, in Osaka and Tokyo on November 4 and 7. The BSO's second program in Tokyo on November 8 will open with a program spotlighting BSO principal players Elizabeth Rowe and Jessica Zhou in Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp and close with Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2; an open rehearsal of this program will take place earlier in the day. The final Tokyo concert on November 9 will be an orchestral showcase pairing Haydn's Symphony 103, Drumroll, with Mahler's Symphony No. 1. In addition, a masterclass with a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra will take place at Suntory Hall on Monday, November 6. Further details about the open rehearsal and master class will be announced at a later date.
This Boston Symphony Orchestra's Japan Tour is being organized by SUNTORY HALL, Suntory Foundation for the Arts, which has announced KDDI Corporation—one of Japan's major telecommunication companies—as the main sponsor. The Japan tour is entitled the “KDDI Special Andris Nelsons and Boston Symphony Orchestra 2017 Japan Tour.” The Japan Tour is also supported by the United States Embassy in Japan.
QUOTE FROM ANDRIS NELSONS, RAY AND MARIA STATA BSO MUSIC DIRECTOR
"It is an extraordinary honor for me to bring the Boston Symphony Orchestra to Japan for our first tour together in this amazing country where the BSO has such an important history of concerts under BSO Conductor Laureate Seiji Ozawa.
"We hope that the BSO's many fans in Japan will enjoy the repertoire that we've chosen to illustrate the Boston Symphony's extraordinary range of musical gifts. From Rachmaninoff's intense emotional expressivity, to Mahler's massive scope of new ideas, Shostakovich's breathtaking depiction of the Russian Revolution of 1905, and Haydn's vivid sound-painting, these symphonic works will showcase the breadth and scope of the BSO's remarkable ability to express ideas, emotion, and inspiration. Furthermore, Gil Shaham—one of the BSO's treasured guest soloists—will join us for Tchaikovsky's masterpiece violin concerto. The BSO is also very pleased to spotlight two of its own superb musicians—principal flute, Elizabeth Rowe, and principal harp, Jessica Zhou, in Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp.
"In addition to all the great music-making we also really look forward to spending time taking in Japan's beautiful landscape and thrilling cityscapes and enjoying its fantastic food—including my personal favorite, sushi—as well as interacting with its most generous, kind, and warm people, who have always shown the BSO such welcome, appreciation, and affection. Most important, we hope our performances will bring our audiences a true sense of inspiration—something very special to remember us by until we meet again!"
QUOTE FROM SEIJI OZAWA, BSO MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE
“My dear BSO friends and Andris Nelsons, welcome back to Japan! I’m so happy to hear that you are coming to Japan to share the joy of BSO music with the Japanese audience. How exciting to hear that this will be Andris’s first visit to Japan with BSO. I’m sure that Japanese audience will enjoy it as much as I look forward to hearing it again and seeing my dear BSO family. I can’t wait to see you all here!”
BRIEF TOURING AND BACKGROUND OF ANDRIS NELSONS AND THE BSO
When Mr. Nelsons took on the title of BSO Music Director on September 27, 2014, at age 35, he became the youngest conductor to hold that title with the orchestra in over 100 years. The fifteenth music director since the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s founding in 1881, Mr. Nelsons is also the first Latvian-born conductor to assume the post. Mr. Nelsons succeeds James Levine, BSO Music Director 2004-2011, the first American-born music director of the orchestra, and Seiji Ozawa, BSO Music Director 1973-2002, the longest-tenured music director in the 136-year history of the orchestra. In summer 2015, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons reached an agreement to extend Mr. Nelsons’ original 5-year contract as BSO Music Director (beginning in the 2014-15 season) through the 2021-22 season.
Though the upcoming tour will be Mr. Nelsons’ first to Japan as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, this will be his third tour at the helm of the orchestra. The Boston Symphony’s most recent overseas tour, under the direction of Andris Nelsons, was a 9-concert, 8-city European tour in spring 2016, with stops in major musical cities in Austria, Germany, and Luxembourg; this followed the BSO's and Andris Nelsons' highly acclaimed first tour together to eight European cities in August-September 2015. The upcoming tour to Asia will be the Boston Symphony's ninth tour to Japan and twenty-seventh international tour. The Boston Symphony’s most recent tour to Japan, under the direction of Charles Dutoit, took place in spring 2014 and featured three performances in Tokyo; during the same tour the BSO made a historic return to China 35 years since their 1979 visit under Seiji Ozawa.
THE BSO AND JAPAN
The Boston Symphony first toured to Japan May 4-30, 1960, under the direction of Charles Munch, the BSO’s music director 1949-62. This 16-city tour also included performances under the direction of Aaron Copland and Richard Burgin (BSO’s associate conductor and concertmaster) with tour repertoire including music of Bach, Barber, Beethoven, Berlioz, Blackwood, Copland, Debussy, Dello Joio, Handel, Haydn, Kirchner, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Piston, Purcell, Ravel, Roussel, and Wagner. Seiji Ozawa, BSO Music Director 1973-2002, would lead the BSO in subsequent tours to Japan in 1978, 1981, 1986, 1989, 1994, and 1999. A highlight of Mr. Ozawa’s and the BSO’s first tour to Japan in 1978 was an appearance in Tokyo by the legendary pianist Rudolf Serkin, who performed Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor. In 1981, the BSO shared its year-long centennial celebration and showcased some of the orchestra’s rich and deep history with their Japanese audiences. In 1986, several members of the orchestra accompanied Mr. Ozawa on a visit to Cenotaph in Hiroshima’s Peace Park to lay a wreath of white carnations and orchids. In 1994 the BSO was honored by the unusual appearance at a public concert by Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako. The BSO’s 1999 Japan tour, part of a season-long celebration of Ozawa’s 25th anniversary leading the orchestra, was filled with mixed emotions for Ozawa and the orchestra, as it would be their last Japan tour together with Mr. Ozawa at the helm as music director. The Boston Symphony’s most recent tour to Japan, under the direction of Charles Dutoit, took place in spring 2014 and featured three performances in Tokyo; during the same tour the BSO made a historic return to China 35 years since their 1979 visit under Seiji Ozawa.
Click here for a listing of the BSO’s past tours to Japan.
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND MUSIC DIRECTOR ANDRIS NELSONS.
FIRST JAPAN TOUR TOGETHER, NOVEMBER 3-9, 2017
Concert Listing
KDDI Special Andris Nelsons and Boston Symphony Orchestra 2017 Japan Tour
Friday, November 3, 5 p.m.
Nagoya, Japan
NTK HALL (Nagoya City Hall)
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
MAHLER Symphony No. 1
Tickets: http://cte.jp/wp_detail/171103/
http://ticket.pia.jp/pia/ticketInformation.do?eventCd=1712222&rlsCd=001&lotRlsCd
Saturday, November 4, 4 p.m.
Osaka, Japan
Festival Hall
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905
Tickets: http://www.festivalhall.jp/english/program_information.html?id=1316
Sunday, November 5, 3 p.m.
Kawasaki, Japan
Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall
Boston Symphyony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
MAHLER Symphony No. 1
Tickets: https://www.kawasaki-sym-hall.jp/e/calendar/detail.php?id=2064&y=2017&m=11
Tuesday, November 7, 7 p.m.
Tokyo, Japan
Suntory Hall
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor Gil Shaham, violin
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905
Tickets: http://www.suntory.com/culture-sports/suntoryhall/schedule/detail/20171107_M_3.html
Wednesday, November 8, 7 p.m.
Tokyo, Japan
Suntory Hall
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Elizabeth Rowe, flute
Jessica Zhou, harp
MOZART Concerto for flute and harp
RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2
Tickets: http://www.suntory.com/culture-sports/suntoryhall/schedule/detail/20171108_M_3.html
Thursday, November 9, 7 p.m.
Tokyo, Japan
Suntory Hall
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
HAYDN Symphony No. 103, Drumroll
MAHLER Symphony No. 1
Tickets: http://www.suntory.com/culture-sports/suntoryhall/schedule/detail/20171109_M_3.html
2017 BSO JAPAN TOUR PRESS CONTACTS:
Boston Symphony Orchestra Press Contact: Bernadette Horgan, bhorgan@bso.org; 617-638-9285
Press Representative for Concerts in Japan: Shinsuke Inoue, shinsuke_inoue@skal.suntory.co.jp