During its 2008-9 season, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra has started its brand-new era, collaborating with its new chief conductor from Russia, Maestro Alexander LAZAREV and new principal guest conductor from Finland, young prominent maestro Pietari INKINEN. JPO now aims to reinforce its musical excellence through the concert cycle of all 7 symphonies of Sergei PROKOFIEV, and other various programs with Maestro LAZAREV which takes 3 years starting in January 2009.
Japan Philharmonic Orchestra's 52 year-history began in Tokyo in 1956. Akeo WATANABE played an important role in founding the orchestra and became its first principal conductor. Soon with the wide repertoire and its unique performing style, JPO has become one of the leading orchestras in Japan, along with NHK Symphony Orchestra. Igor MARKEVITCH, Charles MUNCH, Jean FOURNET, Neeme JÄRVI, Jiří BĚLOHLÁVEK, Seiji OZAWA, and other many world-class conductors have conducted JPO.
Especially under the guidance of its founding conductor WATANABE, whose mother was a Finish singer, JPO has had a great reputation for introducing Jean SYBELIUS' music to Japanese audience. The orchestra recorded full series of SIBELIUS' symphonies under the baton of Maestro WATANABE in 1962 for the first time in the world. JPO also implemented the concert series of all SIBELIUS' symphonies with Maestro Neeme JÄRVI in June 2001. JPO, meanwhile, has contributed to the contemporary music. The orchestra has kept the project Japan Philharmonic Series since 1958, which is to commission new works of music to Japanese composers, including Toru TAKEMITSU, Akira MIYOSHI, Akira NISHIMURA, and Toshio HOSOKAWA. 39 works has been created so far and every one of them has been praised as a masterpiece of contemporary music. The Japan premiere of Tan Dun's opera Marco Polo was also done by JPO in 1998 with a great success and was one of the epoch-making event for the contemporary music scene in Japan.
JPO has had many international tours in its history including Europe and North America. The performances in Estonia in 2002 and in Hawaii in 2004 were both the Japanese orchestra's first appearances in those places, so that they were especially well accepted by the media.
JPO has been also very successful in its education programs. The orchestra has held family concerts in every summer since 1975, and also has many concerts for school students, outreach programs and various workshops. JPO also focuses on the activities with local communities, having concerts all around in Japan. While the franchised hall Suginami Kokaido has been newly renovated, JPO has grown a stronger relationship with its home-community, Suginami ward, Tokyo. |
