New Japan Philharmonic: 390th subscription concert — Kurtág: Stele (Japanese premiere)
- Date and time
16 September 2005 (Fri)
Date: 16 September 2005 (Friday), 19:15
17 September 2005 (Saturday), 15:00
Venue: Sumida Triphony Hall
Kurtág:
Stele (Japanese premiere)
Mahler:
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection”
A pre-concert talk by conductor Arming will begin 30 minutes before the performance.
Please join us for an introduction to the highlights and appeal of the works.
Highlights of the programme
Since becoming music director of the NJP, Arming has conducted Mahler’s Third and Fifth symphonies and
Das Lied von der Erde. He now turns to
the Second Symphony, Resurrection. Famous as the first of Mahler’s symphonies to incorporate voices,
Resurrection is characterised by an exceptionally magnificent sound.
Its fifth movement, longer than an entire Classical symphony, offers a rich variety of
highlights and a grand climax. This movement
is based on Klopstock’s (1724–1803) poem Resurrection, which Mahler heard
at the funeral of Hans von Bülow.
Rather than simply adopting the religious devotion and resignation of the original poem, Mahler
added substantial passages of his own, proclaiming his personal beliefs and his idea of resurrection
with great force.
Kurtág (born 1926), whose Stele opens the concert,
has the ability to create profound expanses through delicate writing.
In Stele, watching the movements of the cimbalom, a Hungarian folk instrument,
is one of the particular pleasures of a live performance.
Through death, the tombstone and resurrection, this season’s theme,
“Faith”, comes into focus in this highly interesting
programme.
Conductor: Christian Arming
Cimbalom: Junko Sakimura
Soprano: 天羽明惠
Alto: Elisabeth Kulman
Choir: 栗友会合唱団 (chorus master: 栗山文昭)
Contact: New Japan Philharmonic Ticket Box, Tel. 03-5610-3815
S: ¥8,000
A: ¥7,000
B: ¥5,500