“Gustavo Dudamel will lead the Berlin Philharmonic in four concerts as part of the cultural program for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in June 2020,” reports Anthony Brown in Tuesday’s (11/26) MusicalAmerica.com (subscription required). “The orchestra will present three performances in Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan concert hall and one free open-air performance in Shinjuku Gyoen Park. Repertoire for the concert hall includes Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) with soloists Anett Fritsch and Alisa Kolosova and the Tokyo Opera Singers, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. A third, special Olympic program will consist of works from all over the world. Dudamel and the Berliners will reprise the Beethoven Ninth in Shinjuku Gyoen Park for an anticipated audience of 10,000…. A special ‘Tokyo 2020 One World Chorus’ will feature singers from all continents. ‘Participating in the official cultural program of Tokyo 2020 is a great honor for us,’ noted Andrea Zietzschmann, general manager of the Berlin Philharmonic Foundation. ‘Music, like sport, can develop a tremendous power of understanding among peoples, … so it is especially important to us that the open-air concert brings together many nations on one stage.’ ”
Posted November 27, 2019
