Tuesday October 24, 2006
Nagoya orchestra in concert
| | Flautist Ayako Takagi will be performing the Flute Concerto No. 2 in D major.
| UMW Toyota Motor brings the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra to perform at the annual Toyota Classics concert on Nov 4 at the Shah Alam City Auditorium, Selangor. UMW Toyota Motor and Toyota Motor Corporation Japan have been organising the Toyota Classics for the past 17 years, and for at least the first half of that, was one of the pioneering few who were responsible for bringing in World Class orchestras to this country. The Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, formed 40 years ago, comprises 75 professional musicians, and will be making its second appearance in Malaysia under the Toyota Classics banner; its last appearance was in 2000. The orchestra has received the Tokai TV Cultural Prize (1990), the Aichi Prefecture Arts and Culture Prize (19910 and the Agency for Cultural Affairs Award for recording arts (1997), and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. This concert will be conducted by Tatsuyo Shimono, who has trained under the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, and has guest conducted the likes of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Bordeaux Orchestra and Strasbourg Philharmonic. 
| | This year’s Toyota Classics concert will be conducted by Tatsuyo Shimono.
| Next month, Shimono will become the first conductor to fill the position of resident conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. His debut CD, conducting the Osaka Philharmonic in performances of works by Japanese composer Hiroshi Oguri, was released by Naxos in 2003. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth, the first half of the concert will feature classics from his repertoire, including the famed Flute Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 314, with the flute solo performed by Japanese flautist Ayako Takagi. Takagi is among Japan's most sought after young flautists, thanks to an attractive combination of technique and style that has won her an enthusiastic following. Her list of CD releases reached nine as of June 2005. The orchestra will also perform the overture to the opera Don Giovanni. In the second half, the orchestra will perform works by Antonin Dvorak, Georges Bizet, Gabriel Fauré and Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky. This year, all gross proceeds from ticket sales and corporate donations will be channelled to St Nicholas' Home, Bagan Jermal Penang; Pusat Latihan Pertanian Bagi Orang Buta, Taman Harapan, Temerloh Pahang; and Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Spastik, Johor Baru. Since 1990, through the organisation of the Toyota Classics, UMW Toyota has raised and donated RM4.1mil to 26 local charity organisations. Tickets for the concert are priced at RM70, RM150 and RM250. For reservations call the Corporate Planning Division of UMW Toyota at 03-5123 6740/46 or e-mail classics@toyota.com.my or visit www.toyota.com.my The Shah Alam City Auditorium is located at Majlis Perbandaran, Shah Alam, Selangor. – By Jason Cheah |
