Concert Hall ATM, ART TOWER MITO Mito Arts Foundation 1-6-8 Goken-cho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 310-0063 Japan How to get to ART TOWER MITO Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp Phone: +81-(0)29-227-8118 / Facsimile: +81-(0)29-227-8130

The Enchanting Flute and Strings
-- The Sound That Mozart Wanted to Hear

The first-ever joint performance between the master flautist Masahiro Arita and Mito dell'arco. The wooden flute and the lamb-gut stringed instruments will weave for you the captivating melodies of Mozart.

Although 250 years have elapsed since his birth, Mozart's music retains its youthfulness even in contemporary times. For that purpose, of course, it is necessary for there to be performers to give sound to that freshness just as if his music were being created anew today.

In the upcoming ninth concert of Mito dell'arco, Art Tower Mito's original-instrument quartet, the program will be devoted to the music of Mozart. The featured pieces selected for the concert are: (1) "The Hunt" String Quartet in B flat major (K.458), brimming in vitality and joy, (2) the last string quartet Mozart wrote, the String Quartet in F major (K.590), and (3) Mozart's Flute Quartet in D major (K.285), the long-awaited joint performance of Mito dell'arco with the world-class master flautist Masahiro Arita, who has full command of flutes from any era. Also to be performed is the delicate flute quartet by the French composer Devienne, a flautist contemporary to Mozart; that piece will surely draw a even more vivid and lively picture of the era that Mozart lived in.

This fall, Mito dell'arco -- super performers of original instruments -- will present to your ears and your heart the sound that Mozart wanted to hear, and the words he wanted to say.


A Musical Bouquet Presented to Mozart - 3 -
Art Tower Mito's Original-instrument Quartet
Mito dell'arco 9th Regular Concert

Date: Sept. 9, 2006 (Sat)
Time: 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 p.m. for seating)
Venue: Art Tower Mito Concert Hall ATM
Admission: A 3,500 yen / B 2,500 yen (All seats reserved)


Program

Wolfgang A. Mozart (1756-91): String Quartet in B flat major (K.458), "The Hunt" (String Quartet No. 4 dedicated to Haydn)
Francois Devienne (1759-1803): Flute Quartet in A minor, Opus 66-1
W.A. Mozart: String Quartet No.1 in D major (K.285)
W.A. Mozart: String Quartet in F major (K.590), "Prussian No. 3"

Members of Mito dell'arco
-- Ryo Terakado and Sophie Gent (classical violin)
-- Yoshiko Morita (classical viola)
-- Hidemi Suzuki (classical cello)
-- Guest: Masahiro Arita (flauto traverso)


About Mito dell'arco
Mito dell'arco is the only string quartet in Japan to use original instruments (i.e., the instruments for which composers originally intended their pieces to played on). As Art Tower Mito's fourth in-house ensemble, the group was founded in 1999. The name of the group is actually a play on words: the full name means the "myth of the bow" in Italian, while "Mito" is also the name of the city where ATM is located. In their first regular concert performed in September 1999, the group played pieces by Haydn and Mozart, winning critical raves. Thereafter, the group has continued to draw attention, playing, for instance, a reconstructed version of a string quartet by Andreas Romberg in their second concert, and a Boccherini and Schubert program (jointly with Emmanuel Balsa) in their eighth concert. High hopes are pinned on the efforts of Mito dell'arco, as they shed new light on string quartet masterpieces from the Classical era to the Romantic.
-- First Violin, Ryo Terakado
-- Second Violin, Sophie Gent
-- Viola, Yoshiko Morita
-- Cello, Hidemi Suzuki


Masahiro Arita (Flauto traverso)
Graduating in 1972 as valedictorian from Toho Gakuen School of Music, Masahiro Arita captured the Grand Prize at the 40th NHK-Mainichi Music Competition (now known as the Japan Music Competition) held the same year. The following year, he traveled to Belgium to study at the Brussels Royal Music Academy. In 1974, while still in school, he joined the Collegium Aureum and started performing with them on their tours through Europe and to Japan. In 1975, Arita graduated from the Academy winning its highest honors, the Premier Prix. The same year, he won grand prize at the Bruges International Music Competition in the flauto traverso division. In 1977, then, he entered The Hague Royal Music Academy in the Netherlands, and graduated in just half a year with a Soliste Diploma degree, winning the highest possible honors.
After returning to Japan, Arita has actively performed with master musicians both in Japan and abroad, making a European tour with the 18c Orchestra directed by Frans Bruggen, performing jointly with the Kuijken brothers, and being invited by the English Concert directed by Trevor Pinnock to play with the group as soloist during its performances in Japan. Arita's record released in 1985, "German Baroque Flute Music," won the Record Academy Prize in two divisions as well as the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Artwork Prize. In 1989, he formed the Tokyo Bach Mozart Orchestra, and the creation memorial concert he led as director was lauded to the skies. Also, his activities as a flutist are remarkable, giving recitals as well as an ambitious chamber music series. In 1990, he took the Suntory Music Prize.
More recently, he has continued to carry out noteworthy activities in line with his status as a world-class performing, having given an unaccompanied recital using several different flutes matching the period of each of the composer's eras, and releasing a CD, "Pan's Flute," in October 1999 that was based the same concept, winning the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Art Festival outstanding performance award. Currently, Arita serves as a professor at Showa Music University, as well as a lecturer in the Old Instrument Department of Toho Gakuen School of Music. His latest CD is entitled, "Trance Centuries - Flute Transcending the Centuries," available on the avex-classics label. At Art Tower Mito, he gave a joint recital, "Pan's Flute Special Edition," in January 2002 with the keyboardist Chiyoko Arita, captivating the audience with the program employing various different flutes and keyboards.

Mozart Birthday Special!

In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, drinks normally costing 250 yen will be free!
-- Bring your ticket stub on the day of the concert to the Art Tower Mito Cafe to receive a complimentary drink normally costing 250 yen (coffee, tea, etc.).
-- This service is only valid from 30 minutes before the concert hall opens for seating on September 9 (i.e., from 5:30 p.m.), and will extend until the intermission is finished. Please be aware that certain items may run out, so be prepared to make another choice in that case.

Tickets Now on Sale

Ticket Counter, Entrance Hall, Art Tower Mito (9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. / Closed on Mondays)
Ticket Reservation Center, Art Tower Mito at Tel. 029-231-8000 (9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. / Closed on Mondays)

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Concerts by Mito dell'arco in Other Venues

Sept. 10 (Sun) Tokorozawa Civic Cultural Centre MUSE
MUSE Ticket Counter TEL 04-2998-7777

Sept. 16 (Sat) Fukuoka City Airef Hall (Early Music Festival in Fukuoka 2006)
The 18th Music Century Music Festival Association Office TEL&FAX 092-741-9541

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Translated by Paul T. Narum
(official names are furnished by the artists and planners themselves)

Copyright ©2006 MITO ARTS FOUNDATION. All Rights Reserved. Created by TK.
Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp