東日本大震災で中止になったコンサートを復活!
一期一会のスーパー・オーケストラ
これは...まさに奇跡のコンサートだった。
「日本が誇るヴァイオリニスト・藤原浜雄に“英雄の生涯”を!」
2014年2月9日 東京芸術劇場コンサートホール
Recording Data: February 9, 2014 Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Concert Hall
A special orchestra was assembled to revive a concert cancelled in the aftermath of the March 11th 2011 earthquake disaster. The miraculous orchestra came to be only through the ardent desire of players who wished to see leading Japanese violinist Hamao Fujiwara perform Ein Heldenleben.
Concert Organizer GO NAKAJIMA
Hamao Fujiwara, who served as the solo-concert master of renowned Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, was slated to step down after the 2011-2012 season. Audiences have for long been left spellbound by his beautiful tone qualities, while younger violinists looked up to him with much admiration and trust. Fujiwara was to play the solo violin for Richard Strauss’ tone poem, Ein Heldenleben in a concert marking his retirement.
But alas, the concert was called off as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which hit eastern Japan several days in prior. The cancellation came despite Fujiwara’s meticulous preparation to play the challenging concertmaster solos to mark his exit from Yomiuri Orchestra.
Finally, after three years, a special orchestra made up of mainly orchestra players in Tokyo was formed to perform Ein Heldenleben, featuring Fujiwara as its concertmaster. The orchestra’s music director was Tsugio Tokunaga, Fujiwara’s friend and former solo-concertmaster of NHK Symphony Orchestra. The players, who have much respect for Fujiwara, gathered in response to Tokunaga’s calls for the sole purpose of redeeming Fujiwara’s opportunity to play the great tone poem. Such an undertaking is unprecedented in musical circles in Japan.
Ken-David Masur, the son of the great conductor Kurt Masur, took the helm of the special orchestra, comprising of principal players from top-notch Japanese orchestras. He took to the podium in front of a packed audience - and a brilliant performance followed.
The concert however came with an unexpected twist of fate. Members of the orchestra first gathered for a rehearsal on February 7th, 2014 -
two days before the concert. Under Mazur’s lead, the energetic, yet graceful sounds of the ensemble came into form as each player demonstrated remarkable levels of focus. The potential of this orchestra was phenomenal. The rehearsal seemed to proceed with tangible results. But trouble was looming over the horizon. Weather officials have forecast massive snow the following day. The schedule that day comprised of a rehearsal during the day, followed by a general rehearsal in the evening. This was because the concert itself was slated at 11 A.M. the following day; there was no time for a Generalprobe on the day of the concert.
Come February 8th - members of the orchestra have all gathered for rehearsal, but by the time the general rehearsal came to an end in the evening, a snowstorm prevailed and brought all public transportation to a halt. Some players walked home in despite the heavy snow, while others opted to stay in a nearby hotel at their own expense. At any rate, they were determined to do all they can to ensure a successful concert the following day. But why on earth did the heaviest snowfall Tokyo experienced in 40 years opt to occur on the day before the concert, of all days?
It was no longer snowing the following morning, but record snow delayed transport services. But all the members of the orchestra assembled on stage that day, while the audience was packed. Excitement filled the air - Fujiwara is to come full circle with his performance of Ein Heldenleben at long last.
The young Masur’s baton was raised. Wave upon wave of rich sound engulfed the audience to bring to a start a miraculous performance by a phenomenal orchestra.
15 окт 2024
