■About Performance
“Orchestral music is the flower of Western culture, and the flowers that have taken root in the East return to their hometowns, bloom with large flowers, and then drop their seeds. And it will sprout new buds.”
This is a critique of the orchestra that appeared in a prominent German newspaper. We strongly believe that international cultural exchange through music is the purpose of our overseas performance tours, and that the path to world peace is for people to understand and communicate with each other across borders through the joy of music. Based on this philosophy, successive members of the orchestra have made various efforts.
At the invitation of Mr. Herbert von Karajan, the Waseda University Symphony Orchestra conducted its first concert tour in 1978, “Germany-Austria Touring Concert Tour”, and participated in the 5th International Youth Orchestra Competition (commonly known as the Karajan Competition) sponsored by the Karajan Foundation held in Berlin. I received the Karajan Gold Medal. It was this success that led us to start our international concert tour.
The 2003 European Concert Tour will be held as the Karajan Memorial to commemorate the 25th anniversary of winning the Karajan Competition.
When we consulted with Mr. Masahiko Tanaka, who has made great efforts to make this tour a success, he was opposed to the implementation of the tour and declined to be involved in the planning and production of the tour, as he had previously professed. Instead, Mr. Rudolf Weinsheimer, a former cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and an honorary advisor to the orchestra, advised us to ask JTB, where Mr. Kazunori Koseki, an alumnus, works, to handle the travel business. In response to this request, Mr. Weinsheimer decided to hold this performance as the “Karajan Memorial”.
The venues for the performances are planned by Mr. Weinsheimer, mainly in Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, etc., which are closely related to Mr. Karajan. In addition, Dr. Uli Merkule, director of the Karajan Center in Vienna, was once trusted by Mr. Karajan and played an active role as an arm, and he has known the Waseda University Symphony Orchestra in detail continuously since the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra came to Japan in 1976. At the request of Mr. Weinsheimer, Dr. Mercle prepared all the venues for the performances as the organizers of the Karajan Center.
At the suggestion of Mr. Weinsheimer and Mr. Merkre, the orchestra performed Stravinsky’s ballet “The Rite of Spring,” which was performed at the Karajan Competition, and “Till Eulenspiegel’s Pleasant Mischief,” which Mr. Karajan instructed as an open rehearsal.
As accompanying conductors, we welcomed Mr. Daisuke Soga, Music Director and Permanent Conductor of the Osaka Sinfonica Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Romanian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Kiyotaka Teraoka, winner of the Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition in 2000, and Mr. Masahiko Tanaka, Permanent Honorary Advisor of the Orchestra. Mr. Masahiko Tanaka has always been reluctant to conduct official performances, but Dr. Merccule, who has admired Mr. Masahiko Tanaka’s great efforts for the orchestra for decades, strongly hopes that the orchestra will be conducted under the direction of Mr. Masahiko Tanaka because “the maestro (Herbert von Karajan) in the graveyard will be pleased.” Mr. Masahiko Tanaka was having a very difficult time, but at the request of Mr. Mercure, who had been indebted to him in the past, he decided to conduct only the minimum number of performance venues necessary.
Mr. Karajan has taken a deep interest in our orchestra since the Karajan Competition and has backed up our activities by giving us various advice and handwritten messages. He believed that “music” could contribute to peace, and that exchange and understanding between the younger generations would be a bridge to peace, and he actively paved the way for such overseas performance tours. Without Mr. Karajan’s efforts, we believe that neither this tour nor the development of the orchestra today would have been possible. With a deep sense of gratitude to him, we will do our utmost to make this overseas concert tour a success.
■Concert Overview
| Place | Concert Hall |
|---|---|
| ◇Germany | |
| Oberhausen | Luise-Albertz-Halle |
| Wiesbaden | Kurhaus |
| Bamberg | Josef-Keilbert-Haus |
| Leipzig | Gewandhaus |
| Frankfrt am Oder | Konzerthalle C. Ph. E. Bach |
| Berlin | Philharmonie |
| Frankfurt am Main | Alte Oper |
| ◇Austria | |
| Salzburg | Grosses Festspielhaus |
| Wien | Musikverein Goldener Saal |
| ◇Japan | |
| Tokyo | Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space, Main Hall |
| Shiraishi | White Cube |
| Tokyo | Suntory Hall, Main Hall |
■Performance Periods
- Mid-February.2003～Mid-March.2003
■Conductors
- Daisuke Soga
- Masahiko Tanaka (Honorary Conductor of our Orchestra)
- Kiyotaka Teraoka
■Program
- Rossini / William Tell Overture
- Richard Strauss / Tone Poem “Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streichen” Op.28
- Stravinskys / ”The Rite of Spring”
- Sigeaki Saegusa / Concerto for Taiko and Orchestra
