Celebrating the Staatskapelle Berlin’s Tour of Asia
Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Berlin performed Brahms’s 3rd and 4th symphonies in the sold-out Tokyo Suntory Hall on December 8, the celebrated finale of their Asian tour. The enthusiastic audience thanked the Staatskapelle Berlin for this musical experience with standing ovations and 20 minutes of frenetic applause.
Beginning November 28th, the Staatskapelle Berlin played eight concerts in Asia under the musical direction of Christian Thielemann, who took over conducting for General Music Director Daniel Barenboim at short notice. Three performances in Seoul took the Staatskapelle Berlin to South Korea for the first time in their more than 450-year history. The South Korean press celebrated this debut as “The best concert this year” (Hankook Ilbo) and also attested “... it would not be an exaggeration to say that the main character of the performance on this day was the Berlin Staatskapelle orchestra itself [... ] Full sound filled the concert hall with no gaps. It wasn't just lively, it was a very well 'blended' sound. […] and great energy was poured out during ensemble. Also, there was a lot of affection in the tender parts” (Yonhap News).
On December 2nd, the orchestra returned to Japan for the first time since performing all of Bruckner's symphonies under Daniel Barenboim six years earlier. There the Staatskapelle Berlin and Christian Thielemann played in Kumamoto, in Osaka, for the 40th anniversary of the Concert Hall and in Tokyo in the Tokyo Opera City and the Suntory Hall. The Asia tour program included all four symphonies by Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7, and Richard Wagner's Vorspiel und Liebestod from TRISTAN UND ISOLDE.
It was also a special honor that the Ambassador Clemens von Goetze had invited Maestro Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Berlin, and the entire team to a reception in the German Embassy, which was also attended by Imperial Highness Princess Hisako von Takamado, who is very fond of promoting international cultural exchange.
“It is a small miracle that this tour could take place and it was worth sticking to it: It was a fantastic concert and for us it was a historic event that the Staatskapelle Berlin was a guest for the first time in its 450-year history in South Korea - one of the most classical music-loving regions we’ve wanted to visit for many years. There and in Japan, Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Berlin were welcomed and celebrated with overwhelming enthusiasm. We are extremely grateful to Christian Thielemann that he took over for our general music director Daniel Barenboim for this tour so excellently and at such short notice.”