Tokyo Sinfonia Symphonies for Strings champagne concert

The Tokyo Sinfonia’s next Symphonies for Strings champagne concert, a Berlioz Serenade, will be held Sept 14 (Wed) in Oji Hall in Ginza, in the heart of Tokyo, where the Tokyo Sinfonia can be heard at its very best.

It is hard to imagine anyone more quintessentially French than fiery, passionate, hyper-romantic Louis-Hector Berlioz. Born only a dozen years after the death of 35-year-old Mozart, Berlioz was, perhaps more than any other composer, a visionary ahead of his time. Even at the age of 12, Berlioz adored the romantic literature of Shakespeare, wept over passages of Virgil which he learned to read in the original Latin, and experienced his first passion for a woman. He also began his passionate romance with music, studying harmony from textbooks, teaching himself to play guitar and flute, and composing romances and chamber music.

Sent to Paris to study medicine at age 18, he found much more of interest in the Paris Opera and the library of the Paris Conservatoire. He impetuously began to write music criticism, and to devote himself to composition, earning the encouragement of the director of the royal chapel, a professor of the Paris Conservatoire, who took him on as a private pupil.

At 21 Berlioz abandoned his medical studies altogether, despite his parents’ stern disapproval, to pursue a career in music. He persisted to enter the Paris Conservatoire and to compete for the coveted Prix de Rome, finally winning the prize and the pension in 1830 on his fourth attempt. Berlioz's fame was truly launched that year however by the sensational premiere of a dramatically imaginative composition — Symphonie Fantastique.

For Berlioz, the passion and poetry of Shakespeare opened up the entire universe of romanticism and theatre. The dramatic power of Beethoven then burst over Berlioz “like a thunderclap.” Thenceforth, these two driving forces inspired his most important compositions, compositions which earned him the admiration of Liszt, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, Strauss, and Mahler.

Tokyo Sinfonia maestro Robert Ryker has long been dedicated to the music of Hector Berlioz. This performance will surely capture the elemental structure and visceral drama of Berlioz’s musical conception.

Tokyo Sinfonia performances are distinctive, user-friendly, memorable, and moving. They touch your heart. They lift your spirit. They enrich your soul.

Invite your friends and colleagues to join you for a romantic evening with us. Let the strings of the Tokyo Sinfonia play their hearts out for you. You will be deeply touched. You might even become a fan.

The Tokyo Sinfonia's Berlioz Serenade will be another delightful voyage of discovery. It all deserves to be played. It all demands to be heard. All that, and champagne too. You won’t forget it.

BERLIOZ SERENADE

September 14, Friday, from 19:00 - doors open from 18:30 Oji Hall (Ginza) Scenes and Scherzo from Romeo et Juliette Reverie et Caprice for Violin & Strings, Op. 8 - Mika Hasegawa, violin solo Symphony for Strings, from Grande Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale, Op. 15

Artists & audience champagne reception

Tickets (concert & champagne) ~ Group ￥5,000 each • Single ￥5,500 • Student ¥2,500

TICKETS

Information: 03-3588-0738 Facebook

Sinfonia direct: tickets@tokyosinfonia.com Paypal online: http://www.paypal.jp (tickets@tokyosinfonia) Peatix online: http://peatix.com/event/179086