Mito Chamber Orchestra Regular Concerts Spring 2002 (English)

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MCO 49th and 50th Regular Concerts

This year we celebrate the 13th year of the existence of the Mito Chamber Orchestra (MCO). The two concert programs drawn up by the ensemble this spring reflect its dual nature: both its plain, unadorned face, and its gussied-up, made-up, or dressed-up countenance.

The 49th Regular Concert represents the "plain" side of MCO: namely, the basic core of the MCO membership unaccompanied by any conductor or guest soloists. The violist Masao Kawasaki and the horn player Nobuyuki Mizuno - both MCO members - are featured soloists in two of the works performed. The program is rounded out by the orchestral version of Brahms's 2nd String Quartet, a masterpiece of the composer's waning years.

The milestone-marking 50th Regular Concert, then, presents MCO in the resplendent regale of its dressed-up format, welcoming back Seiji Ozawa, the ensemble's musical adviser, at the baton. The program includes such standards as the Mozart Oboe Concerto featuring the renowned oboist Fumiaki Miyamoto, and Haydn's "Il Distratto" Symphony, which gives each section of the orchestra a full work-out, so to speak. The highlight of the program is the world premiere performance of a work commissioned by MCO to Yoshihisa Taïra, a Japanese composer based in France. The piece will certainly make the celebratory mood of the day that much more special!

Mito Chamber Orchestra: 49th Regular Concert
June 8, 2002 (Sat) 6:30 p.m. (seating begins at 6:00 p.m.)
June 9, 2002 (Sun) 2:00 p.m. (seating begins at 1:30 p.m.)
Concert Hall ATM
S ¥6,000 / A ¥5,000 / B ¥3,500
Tickets are already on sale. All seats reserved.

Program:
Hofmeister: Viola concerto in D (Viola solo: Masao Kawasaki, MCO member)
R. Strauss: Horn concerto No.1 in E-flat, Op. 11 (Horn solo: Nobuyuki Mizuno, MCO member)
Brahms: String quintet No. 2 in G, Op. 111 (chamber version)

Mito Chamber Orchestra: 50th Regular Concert
Conductor: Seiji Ozawa
June 26, 2002 (Wed.) 7:00 p.m. (seating begins at 6:30 p.m.)
June 27, 2002 (Thu.) 7:00 p.m. (seating begins at 6:30 p.m.)
Concert Hall ATM
~~S ¥15,000 / A ¥13,000 / B ¥9,000~~ Sorry, sold out

Program:
Mozart: Oboe concerto in C, K314 (285d) (Oboe solo: Fumiaki Miyamoto, MCO member)
Haydn: Symphony No. 60 in C, Hob.I-60, "Il Distratto"
Yoshihisa Taïra: "Sai-Un (Iridescent cloud bringing good fortune)" for chamber orchestra, commissioned work for MCO, world premiere

A Word from Yoshihisa Taïra about His Motives

I first knew about the performances of the MCO thanks to a CD given me by Tatsuo Oguchi, general intendant of the group. At that time, he expressed his desire for me to compose a work for the ensemble should the opportunity present itself. In March last year, when I had the chance to listen to the MCO live in a performance in Paris, the desire increasingly grew to compose a piece for the orchestra. It was thus an utter delight for me -- in a party immediately after the performance - to have received such a commission in a discussion with Ozawa and Oguchi.

I was even more heartened a few days later, when Oguchi phoned me from Japan saying that Hidekazu Yoshida (director general of Art Tower Mito) was very pleased to learn about the commission. In response to a question about the type of work I planned to compose, I mentioned that I was thinking of colors, especially a conglomeration of colored sound, or the colors which bubble up from sounds. I believe that this expression most aptly describes the nature of this work. My basic tenets in composing works are the reverberation of sound, color, and prayer.

By Yoshihisa Taïra

Mito Chamber Orchestra is greatfully supported by substantial contributions from Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Supported by: Zaidanhojin Genden Fureai Ibaraki Zaidan

Cooperation: All Nippon Airways (ANA)

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