Greetings from Asia - April 27, 2010

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2010 Tour of Asia began with first visits to three cities: Changwon and Gumi in Korea, and Miyazaki in Japan. The musicians, who are considered celebrities here in Asia, were greeted upon arrival in Busan, Korea, by television and newspaper photographers who were eager to share with their viewers and readers a glimpse of the musicians before the Orchestra’s concerts. And the musicians themselves were eager to begin connecting with these new audiences.

The performances in Changwon and Gumi were presented by Korea in Art. Concertmaster David Kim, who has worked with this presenter in solo appearances, was instrumental in helping to forge this new relationship for the Orchestra. In fact, on the first day in Busan, David had organized two chamber performances in Ellev and Eulsukdo, two suburbs of Busan. Those concerts featured Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales, clarinetist Paul Demers, Principal Bassoon Daniel Matsukawa, bassoonist Angela Anderson, Principal Horn Jennifer Montone, and Associate Principal Horn Jeffrey Lang in Beethoven’s Sextet for winds; Principal Cello Hai-Ye Ni and guest pianist Hun-Jae Kim in Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata in G minor; and David Kim, Acting Principal Second Violin Paul Roby, violists Che-Hung Chen and Anna Marie Ahn Petersen, Associate Principal Cello Efe Balticigil, and Assistant Principal Cello Yumi Kendall in Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence.

The Philadelphia Orchestra is the largest ensemble ever presented by Korea in Art. It was an ambitious undertaking for this organization and one that all agreed paid off handsomely. Both concerts were a resounding success. After traveling halfway around the world, the musicians seamlessly came together with little rehearsal time to perform two inspiring concerts. David Kim was a popular soloist in Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and the Orchestra’s performances of Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances (which was dedicated to and premiered by the Fabulous Philadelphians  in 1941), and Ravel’s La Valse were a colorful and lively way to launch the tour.

Audiences in both cities were thrilled. The concerts were completely sold out and Gumi Mayor Yujin Nam even cancelled all meetings to be sure nothing interfered with his plans to attend the concert. During the performances the audiences were completely rapt, but they showed their thanks and enthusiasm afterward with cheers and roars of approval. Against convention, some audience members took to their feet with standing ovations, a sure sign that the Orchestra had won over a new audience of listeners. One patron declared the Changwon concert “the best music I’ve ever heard,” while another dubbed the Gumi concert “a lifetime experience.”

The Orchestra then traveled to Miyazaki, Japan, which is host to the Miyazaki Music Festival. Charles Dutoit has been music director of the Festival for the past seven years and his bringing The Philadelphia Orchestra to this resort city on the island of Kyushu was greeted with great excitement; we were all honored at this opportunity. Again, arrival at the airport brought a flurry of press. While the Orchestra musicians were all warmly applauded as they exited customs, the real attention was on the maestro, who would be conducting his farewell concert to the Festival with the Orchestra’s performance.

Isaac Stern Hall at the Medikit Arts Center in Miyazaki is based on the measurements of the Musikverein in Vienna and seats about 1,800 people. As a result, the sound is outstanding and even though the musicians were tightly packed onstage for the large repertoire performed on the concert--Stravinsky’s complete Firebird and The Rite of Spring--they found the acoustics very rewarding.

While the music is the primary reason for the tour, there are, of course, “extracurricular” activities and now that we are in Japan, baseball has loomed large. Prior to leaving Philadelphia, the players on the Orchestra’s baseball team, the Philadelphia Firebirds, arranged to play three games--one in Miyazaki and two in Tokyo. Alas, the first game resulted in a loss against Miyazaki’s “Third Best Government Team.” Hopefully the Firebirds will redeem themselves with a double header against the Tokyo Symphony. Stay tuned for the results!

As we enter our second week of the tour, we all eagerly look forward to returning to Tokyo and the opportunity to greet friends made over the many years the Orchestra has performed in that colorful and bustling city. David Patrick Stearns from the Philadelphia Inquirer joins the tour party in Tokyo--you can read his coverage on www.philly.com--and Susan Lewis from WRTI-FM joins the Orchestra in Beijing--tune in to 90.1 FM after May 1 for her coverage on Notes from the Road. Or, visit our website at www.philorch.org/tour for links to their stories and photos from tour.

Best regards,
The touring musicians and staff of The Philadelphia Orchestra

Photo by Chris Lee