Below is an overview of the coverage of the DR Symphony Orchestra's trip to Japan.
Photo series and article on dr.dk here: https://www.dr.dk/om-dr/nyheder/billeder-19000-japanere-hoerer-dansk-musik-tiden-og-de-klapper-heftigt
Interview with Henrik Dam Thomsen and the Director General on DRinde here: https://www.dr.dk/om-dr/nyheder/henrik-er-med-dr-symfoniorkestret-i-japan-de-klapper-paa-en-anden-maade-herude
P2 transmission with various features here: https://www.dr.dk/radio/p2/p2-koncerten/p2-koncerten-dr-symfoniorkestret-i-japan-i
Press release here: https://www.dr.dk/om-dr/nyheder/dr-symfoniorkestret-indtager-japan-paa-en-af-sine-mest-omfattende-turneer
Feature in Kulturen på P1 here: https://www.dr.dk/radio/p1/kulturen-pa-p1/kulturen-pa-p1-2019-03-12#!00:01:32
By Cecilie Rosenmeier
If the audience at the DR Symphony Orchestra's Thursday Concert on 7 March felt that the musicians on stage were extra excited, it's with good reason.
The day after the concert, everyone involved - from musicians to conductor and soloist - was to embark on one of the most extensive and prestigious tours in the orchestra's history.
A total of 100 musicians from the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, together with chief conductor Fabio Luisi and soloists Yukio Yokoyama and Arabella Steinbacher, were invited on a prestigious tour of Japan, which kicks off on 8 March. The tour is part of the Toshiba Grand Concert concept, which for almost 40 years has introduced Japanese audiences to leading symphony orchestras from around the world.
With the invitation from Toshiba, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi were in distinguished company. Among the names that have previously toured under the Toshiba Grand Concert programme are orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Dresden State Orchestra with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle.
Kim Bohr, Head of DR Koncerthuset, Choirs & Orchestras, says about the tour:
- It has been a dream of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra for many years to come to Japan. The fact that we have now been invited on such a large tour, which is even financed by our hosts, is truly proof that the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is one of Europe's leading orchestras today. We are also proud to be part of DR's strong commitment to Danish cultural exports, which also shines through in our media productions.
The tour, which is the Danish National Symphony Orchestra's first ever concert tour to Japan, included a total of 10 concerts in seven of the country's finest concert halls. This also made it one of the orchestra's most extensive tours to date, measured in terms of concerts - and presumably also in terms of audience numbers, which reached up to 19,000.
The DR Symphony Orchestra played here from 8-23 March
- Tokyo
- Kanazawa
- Nagoya
- Hiroshima
- Hakata
- Osaka
- Sendai
DR P2 broadcast from the tour on the 14th and the second part will be on 28 March at 19:20. Host: Mathias Hammer
As is tradition when the Danish National Symphony Orchestra travels on tour, the orchestra brings music by two great Danish composers on its trip to Japan.
In addition to the catchy overture to the opera Maskarade by our national composer Carl Nielsen, the audience could experience the Japanese premiere of the work ‘Evening Land’, written by living composer Bent Sørensen.
’Evening Land’ was originally written for the New York Philharmonic, and the music has been described as “intriguing”, “stirring” and “truly touching” in the New York Times. When the DR Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi first performed the work, Berlingske's critic noted that the work is ”yet another proof of Denmark as a musical superpower.”
In addition to sheet music and instruments, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra also brought a brand new CD release with them to Japan. Together with Dacapo Records and Naxos Japan, a collection of live recordings of works by Danish composers has been released on a special CD that will be released exclusively in Japan on the occasion of the tour.
By Lars Møller Hansen
- I had some ideas about what would meet us out here - some have been true, some have surprised me.
Dr.dk/omdr has caught cellist Henrik Dam Thomsen on a phone as he looks out over sunny Tokyo from his hotel room on the 36th floor.
- The Japanese are a very concert-accustomed audience, they are disciplined and quiet when we play. What surprises me is how outgoing they are when we finish playing. They are excited and shouting and screaming - I didn't expect that. They clap in a different way - more intensely, and then they become quiet again in a split second when we play on," says Henrik Dam Thomsen.
This is the first time the Danish National Symphony Orchestra has toured Japan - a two-week tour featuring 10 concerts in seven of the country's finest concert halls.
- It's always interesting to play for another culture. They're so incredibly welcoming in this country that you want to give back as much as you can. When we take 100 people to the other side of the world, it's nice that it feels like we're giving them something. It's always fun for an orchestra to be on tour, and this is extra fun," says Henrik Dam Thomsen.
The days typically involve travelling between the seven cities the tour covers - Tokyo, Kanazawa, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Osaka and Sendai. In the afternoon, there are pre-rehearsals, including sound checks, and then there is a concert in the evening.
- There are some tough days when you have to adjust musically and personally - new concert halls, new venues, new hotels. It's overwhelming out here. But it's one of the best things as a musician to experience the world. It's a huge privilege. It's a total experience with cultural experiences and we get close to the audience.
Henrik Dam Thomsen recalls an episode from the city of Fukuoka:
- There was a small Japanese man standing outside the concert hall and he addressed us in Danish. He had a hobby of learning languages with cassette tapes and books, and he had learnt Danish. We ended up in a restaurant and it turned out that he had played cello like me in the town's orchestra for 30-35 years. We talked about where he had studied, he told me that his two daughters were musicians in Chicago and Hamburg. I asked if the instruments his orchestra played were Japanese or European. It turned out that he had two Italian top cellos. It's great fun to have an experience like that.
DR's Director General Maria Rørbye Rønn was on the first days of the tour. She shares Henrik Dam Thomsen's enthusiasm:
- It was simply a great experience. Partly to hear the orchestra, partly to experience the Japanese as an audience. They were simply so enthusiastic about the orchestra, and I was extremely proud of that. Japan and Germany are the largest markets for classical music, so the Japanese are a very insightful audience. Therefore, it made a big impression to see how they praised the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and think they are world class. It was a pleasure to experience the dynamic between the orchestra and chief conductor Fabio Luisi. It's very clear, and in my eyes they have simply never been better," says Maria Rørbye Rønn.
She also met the Japanese audience up close during one of the concerts.
- During the break, I was talking to P2 host Mathias Hammer. A Japanese man came up to us and asked if we were from DR. He told us that he was such a big and dedicated fan that he had prepared for the concert by listening to last week's Thursday concert. To be honest, I'm very honoured to think that there are people in Japan enjoying DR's Thursday concerts," says Maria Rørbye Rønn.
Henrik Dam Thomsen is looking forward to the final concert in Sendai on Friday evening and hopes that the Danish National Symphony Orchestra will one day have the opportunity to visit Japan on a new tour:
- It's definitely a country we'd like to go back to.
On 28 March at 19:20 on P2 you can hear one of the concerts from the Symphony Orchestra's trip to Japan. The first concert from the trip can be found here
Watch videos from the trip below:
Video 1: https://www.facebook.com/DRSymfoniOrkestret/videos/392798134842834/