TMSO Special 2020（12/10） │ Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra

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Artists

Rossen GERGOV, Conductor
Shion MINAMI, Violin
Mari OKI, Organ

Profile

Rossen GERGOV (Conductor)

Rossen Gergov is gaining widespread recognition for his work both on the concert platform and in the opera pit, in repertoire from Mozart to the most challenging of contemporary works. Gergov held the position of Chief Conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra until 2017. He also works regularly with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra as one of the principal guest conductors.

This season he will appear with Polish National Radio Orchestra (NOSPR), Katowice, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Pomeranian State Philharmonic, Tokyo New City Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. In February 2020 he returns to Teatro Comunale Bolzano, where he will conduct the contemporary opera Alice by Matteo Franceschini.

In the coming season he will conduct the ORF RSO Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Pomeranian State Philharmonic. Highlights of past seasons include projects with the SWR Symphonieorchester, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra and Sichuan Symphony Orchestra.

In 2017/18 he made his debut at Lisbon’s Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, conducting a series of concerts with the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa. He also debuted with the Osaka Symphony Orchestra in Japan.

Opera highlights include his debut at Teatro Comunale Bolzano in a production of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin during the 2016/17 season. Previously he made his debut at the Nationaltheater Mannheim with a new production of Henze’s Die Bassariden, going on to conduct performances of Cherubini’s Medée. Opera engagements in previous seasons include Tosca, Benedict Mason’s Playing Away and the Austrian premiere of Weinberg’s Das Portrait - all at Bregenzer Festspiele. He also conducted Die Fledermaus and Rigoletto at Volksoper Wien, La traviata and Le nozze di Figaro at Theater Meiningen, Carmen in Varna, Bulgaria, and Orpheus in the Underworld with Trinity Laban in London. Very much at home in contemporary repertoire, Gergov has peviously conducted performances of Michael Jarrell’s Cassandra at Teatro Rossini, Lugo, Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Klangforum Wien and Weinberg’s The Portrait at Opera North, Leeds.
Other highlights include his successful debut with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in concerts with soloist Tasmin Little and return visits to the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Paderewski State Philharmonic Orchestra. Having a close relationship to Japan, he has conducted a big number of the Japanese orchestras, like Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Nagoya Philharmonic, Kyoto Symphony, Hiroshima Symphony, Sapporo Symphony orchestras. Rossen has also worked with Bamberger Symphoniker, DSO Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Orchestre national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, BBC and BBC Scottish symphony orchestras, Ensemble Modern, Vienna Symphony Orchesta, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Sinfonieorchester Basel.

Born in 1981, Rossen studied piano and clarinet before taking conducting lessons with Michail Angelov and subsequently studied with Leopold Hager at the University of Music and Fine Arts in Vienna. Seiji Ozawa invited him to the Tanglewood Music Festival upon which he acted as his assistant for the next years. He conducted the ORF-Sinfonieorchester upon graduation and went on to become Assistant Conductor of the Tonkünstlerorchester Niederösterreich, a post he held until 2009.

Rossen Gergov is a Laureate of the first Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in 2007. His recording of works by David Chesky with the Symphony Orchestra of Norrlandsoperan was nominated for a Grammy in 2008 and he has also recorded for the BBC, Bayerische Rundfunk and ORF in Austria.

Shion MINAMI (Violin)

With her second prize of Long-ThibaudInternational Competition, Shion Minami attracted a great deal of international attention in 2005. She was awarded the Second Prize of the Joseph Joachim Hannover International Violin Competition in 2015. She played with French National Orchestra at the Gala Concert in 2006, Lille National Orchestra in 2007, San Carlo Theatre Orchestra, La Scala Chamber Orchestra and many other Japanese orchestras. She joined the Japan tour of Bilbao Symphony Orchestra conducted by Juanjo Mena in July 2009.
The Beethoven Violin Sonata complete Concert in 2020 was highly evaluated. Released her first recording in 2008 from UNIVERSAL MUSIC, since then she has released 3 CDs.She based her activities in Hannover, she has performed in Japan and in many european countries actively.
Winner of the Fukuoka Prefecture culture Awards in 2006, and the 11th Hotel Okura Award in 2010. In 2011 she was awarded the Music Prize by the Idemitsu. She was also awarded Kita-Kyusyu Prefecture Culture Prize of the Year in 2017.

Photo: ©Kei Uesugi

Mari OHKI (Organ)

Mari Ohki graduated with her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from Tokyo University of the
Arts. She studied at Musikhochschule Lübeck and Hochschule für Musik Detmold. She won
the 1st Prize at Internationaler Buxtehude Orgelwettbewerb, the 2nd Prize at Internationaler
Mainzer Orgelwettbewerb, and 3rd Prize at Prague Spring International Music Competition.
She has appeared as a concert organist in numerous cities in both Japan and Europe. She is a
hall organist of Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall.

Program

Mendelssohn: Overture "Ruy Blas", op.95

Program Notes
Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, op.26

Program Notes
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 in C minor, op.78, "Organ"

Program Notes

Ⅰ Vorspiel: Allegro moderato
Ⅱ Adagio
Ⅲ Finale: Allegro energico

Max Bruch: Born in Cologne, January 6, 1838; died in Friedenau, near Berlin, October 2, 1920

Max Bruch is remembered by concertgoers today on the strength of just two or three works (Kol Nidrei for cello and orchestra, the Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra, and of course, the First Violin Concerto in G minor), but we of the twenty-first century have largely forgotten that Bruch was highly regarded in his day, especially for secular choral music.

Bruch was born in Cologne and remained most of his life in Germany, traveling extensively throughout the country. His career embraced more than seven decades, and peaked in 1891 when he was appointed professor of composition at the Berlin Academy, a post he held for nearly twenty years. The general lack of attention paid to Bruch today may be explained by Sir Donald Francis Tovey: “He was the type of artist universally accepted as a master, about whose works no controversy could arise because no doubt was possible as to their effectiveness and sincerity.”

Bruch began working on his First Violin Concerto in 1857 but put it aside for nine years. It was taken up again and completed in 1866. Otto von Königslow performed the work on April 24, with the composer conducting. But Bruch was not satisfied with the concerto; after some revisions, he submitted it to the famous violinist Joseph Joachim for comment. Joachim suggested numerous changes, but rejected the composerʼs opinion that, because of the free-form first movement, it would be better entitled a fantasy than a concerto. Joachim wrote: “The designation concerto is completely apt. Indeed, the second and third movements are too fully and symmetrically developed for a fantasy. The separate sections of the work cohere in a lovely relationship, and yet ̶ and this is the most important thing ̶ there is adequate contrast. Moreover, Spohr entitled his Gesangszene a concerto!” The final version was first heard in Bremen on January 5, 1868. Nearly forty years later, Joachim still ranked the concerto as one of the four greatest of the nineteenth century, alongside those of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Brahms, noting that Bruchʼs was “the richest, the most seductive.”

The composer himself had these comments to make regarding his interest in the violin: “In my youth I studied the violin for four or five years. … The violin seemed to me even at that time the queen of instruments. … I was destined by nature to write compositions for the voice, and I always studied singing with special interest and have associated largely with singers. This tendency has, of course, also been displayed in my violin works.”

The first movement, marked “Vorspiel” (Prelude), does not follow the standard sonata-allegro form. Nevertheless, its dark undercurrent of passion and drama serves to maintain interest. A brief cadenza precedes the orchestral transition to the second movement, the emotional heart of the concerto. Here we find three distinct themes, some of the loveliest and most lyrical in the violin repertory. A vigorous, energetic orchestral passage introduces the third movement. The soloist enters with a full statement of the gypsy-like theme, played with virtuosic flair across all four strings of the instrument. It has been suggested that Brahms had this movement in mind when he composed the finale of his own violin concerto. A more expansive and lyrical second theme alternates with the first, and the movement builds to an exciting, brilliant conclusion.
Program notes by Robert Markow

Robert Markow's musical career began as a horn player in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He now writes program notes for orchestras and concert organizations in the USA, Canada, and several countries in Asia. As a journalist he covers the music scenes across North America, Europe, and Asian countries, especially Japan. At Montreal's McGill University he lectured on music for over 25 years.

Ⅰ Adagio - Allegro moderato
　Poco adagio
Ⅱ Allegro moderato
　Maestoso - Allegro

Camille Saint-Saëns: Born in Paris, October 9, 1835; died in Algiers, December 16, 1921

For grandeur, majesty and sheer tonal opulence, few symphonies can stand beside the Third of Saint-Saëns. The prominent contribution from the organ, the “King of Instruments,” provides an additional measure of imposing sonority to the work. Yet this symphony is an anomaly in the composerʼs oeuvre. First, it is the only one of his five symphonies to achieve any lasting reputation. Saint-Saëns is not much regarded as a “symphonist,” and were it not for the Organ Symphony, he would have no more importance in this field than Fauré or Gounod. (Saint-Saëns also left two more numbered and two unnumbered symphonies, all written many years before the Third.) Second, there exists virtually no French symphony upon which Saint-Saëns could have modeled his Third in terms of spaciousness and grandness of design. The last really great French symphony had been Berliozʼ Symphonie fantastique (1830), which relied heavily on programmatic elements; these are totally lacking in Saint-Saënsʼ symphony. Hence, the Organ Symphony was really the first in a line of grand French symphonies that bore fruit from Franck, dʼIndy and Chausson among others. And third, there is little in Saint-Saënsʼ other music to prepare us for this symphonyʼs monumentality and its undisguised attempts to “wow” the audience. Saint-Saëns generally conformed to the stylistic traits of much French music ̶ charm, elegance, restraint, plus the transparent scoring, clean outlines and consummate craftsmanship of a basically classical orientation. The Organ Symphony has all of this, but it has more as well ̶ much more. Critic Michael Steinberg has dubbed Saint-Saëns the “master of the immense and effortless fortissimo.”

The Third Symphony was written in early 1886 as the result of a commission from the Royal Philharmonic Society of London. The first performance took place in St. Jamesʼs Hall in London on May 19 of that year. It was a gala event of course, with the Prince and Princess of Wales (Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) in attendance. Saint-Saëns conducted his symphony after having already appeared as soloist in Beethovenʼs Fourth Piano Concerto in the same concert. The public loved the symphony, and critical reception was generally favorable, though some critics grumbled about its unorthodox design. One found “a great deal to admire in this glowing orchestral rhapsody,” but declined to call it a symphony. At the first performance in Paris, Charles Gounod made his famous comment, “There goes the French Beethoven.”

The score is, appropriately enough, dedicated to Franz Liszt, who died just two months after the first performance. Liszt never heard the symphony, but his influence on the younger composer cannot be overestimated. The entire Organ Symphony is based on the principle of continual transformation of a “motto” theme, the very principle that Liszt developed in so many of his own works. This theme makes its first full appearance in the restless series of short detached notes in the violins, following the slow, mysterious introduction. The attentive ear will pick out this theme in its rhythmic and coloristic metamorphoses throughout the symphony ̶ at varying times flowing and lyrical, detached and fragmented, broad and noble, or agitated and restless. The melodic line is also sometimes altered as well.

Although ostensibly in two large parts, the work conforms basically to a standard four-movement symphony. The first movement contains a contrasting second theme ̶ a gently swaying line in the violins which serves as a contrast to the first ̶ but it is the first theme (the “motto”) that is mostly developed. The Adagio movement is ushered in by soft pedal points in the organ, and unfolds leisurely in a mood of elevated and lofty contemplation. After a full, extended pause comes the agitated scherzo-like movement, one of extraordinary energy and drive. Into its nervous principal theme are worked fragments of original “motto” material (lightning flashes of woodwinds). The most exultant moments are reserved for the concluding section, announced by an enormous C-major chord from the organ. Sonic thrills pile up to ever greater heights, and the symphony ends in a magnificent blaze of C major.
Program notes by Robert Markow

Robert Markow's musical career began as a horn player in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He now writes program notes for orchestras and concert organizations in the USA, Canada, and several countries in Asia. As a journalist he covers the music scenes across North America, Europe, and Asian countries, especially Japan. At Montreal's McGill University he lectured on music for over 25 years.

【Solist Encore】J.S Bach: Violin Partita No.3 in E major, BWV1006: VI. Gigue （Shion MINAMI, Violin）

TMSO Special 2020（12/10）

Artists

Program

Ticket Price

Baby sitting Service

TMSO Special 2020（12/10）

Artists

Rossen GERGOV (Conductor)

Shion MINAMI (Violin)

Mari OHKI (Organ)

Program

Ticket Price

Baby sitting Service

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