No.she056July 3, 2025
Suntory Hall Summer Festival 2025
August 23 - 30, 2025
This year’s Suntory Hall Summer Festival will take place on August 23 - 30, 2025. Launched in 1987, this festival of contemporary music in Tokyo presents the cutting-edge music of our age, bringing together musicians from all over the world to perform music that is full of free and adventurous spirit.
This year’s Summer Festival is formed of two parts: “The Theme Composer: Georges Aperghis” and “The Competition of Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition”, an award given to the most outstanding work premiered in Japan in the previous year.
The programme is as follows:
1. Theme Composer Georges Aperghis (Suntory Hall International Program for Music Composition No. 47)
The Theme Composer series presents a portrait of a leading international composer, and commissions him/her a new orchestral work that is premiered during the festival. This year’s theme composer is Georges Aperghis (b. 1945), French-based Greek composer who studied with Iannis Xenakis. A pioneer in the field of experimental music theatre, Aperghis has also attracted attention in recent years for his orchestral and instrumental works.
The three concerts will showcase the diverse appeal of his music. The Orchestra Portrait will include Japanese premieres of his Accordion Concerto and Études VI, VII and VIII for Large Orchestra (VIII commissioned by Suntory Hall), together with music by György Kurtág and Javier Quislant performed by Emilio Pomàrico and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (August 29, Main Hall). The Chamber Music Portrait will feature his unique works for various combinations of instruments and voice performed by specialists in contemporary repertoire (August 24, Blue Rose). There will also be a rare opportunity to experience Aperghis’ avant-garde Récitations for voice solo, performed by the singer Donatienne Michel-Dansac (August 30, Blue Rose).
Aperghis will also give a Music Composition Workshop for young composers, preceded by a Talk Session with Artistic Director Toshio Hosokawa (August 23, Blue Rose). Furthermore, a Masterclass on Contemporary Vocal Works will be given by Donatienne Michel-Dansac (August 27, Blue Rose).
More about the International Program for Music Composition here:
http://www.suntory.com/culture-sports/suntoryhall/global/composers/numano.html
2. The 35th Competition of Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition (August 30, Main Hall)
This award, founded in 1990, is presented to the most notable orchestral work by a Japanese composer premiered during the previous year (January-December 2024). Following the performance of the three nominated works, the jury (Sunao Isaji / Noriko Koide /Akio Yasuraoka) will conduct the deliberations on stage chaired by musicologist Seiji Choki. This year, orchestral works by Takuma Saito, Satori Hironiwa, and Junichi Matsumoto are nominated, which will be performed by the New Japan Philharmonic conducted by Yoichi Sugiyama. There will also be an opportunity for the public to vote for their favourite piece.
To celebrate the centenary of composer Yasushi Akutagawa (1925-89), the concert will open with his Musica per Orchestra Sinfonica, an award-winning work that launched his career.
The programme will also feature the world premiere of the commissioned work, QUEEN for Euphonium, Electric Guitar, Female Voice Ensemble and Large Orchestra by Wataru Mukai, the winner of the 2023 award.
Full listings of the Summer Festival 2025 can be found at the following:
https://www.suntory.com/culture-sports/suntoryhall/article/detail/001711.html
For further information and press photos, please contact:
suntoryhall-pr@suntory.co.jp
Public Relations, Suntory Hall
Website: http://suntory.jp/HALL-e/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suntoryhall/
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