The Vienna Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado, Mitsuko Uchida, Renato Bruson, Yo-Yo Ma--great contemporary names of classical music--will all take part in celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Suntory Hall in Akasaka, Tokyo, which will culminate in the autumn. But the party has already begun.

 Before Suntory Hall opened on Oct. 12, 1986, the metropolis had no auditorium exclusively designed as a classical music concert venue. There had already been many classical concerts, but they usually took place at multipurpose halls where all manner of events from pop concerts to ballet were performed.

 Located in central Tokyo and adjacent to the ANA Hotel, which opened in the same year as part of the stylish Ark Hills building complex, Suntory Hall quickly became a place frequented by classical concertgoers in Japan. Last year, nearly 600,000 people passed through the doors of the venue.

 The concert hall complex, with its vineyard-style main hall capable of seating up to 2,006 concertgoers and its smaller hall seating 432, is the brainchild of art-loving businessman Keizo Saji (1919-99), a son of the founder of liquor giant Suntory Ltd.

 "When I came to the hall two years ago, I felt there was still very much of what Mr. Saji originally intended: quality concerts and good hospitality toward visitors," said Takeshi Hara, the hall's artistic director for the past two years.

 The vast variety of quality programs performed at Suntory Hall over the years includes the Vienna Philharmonic's Japan concert series and the acclaimed semistaged opera series titled "Hall Opera." Portions of both will be included in the celebration programs.

 The hall is renowned for its excellent acoustics. Its acoustic designer, Minoru Nagata, is responsible for the acoustic design of about 30 concert halls at home and abroad, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, which opened in 2003 as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

 "Our goal now is to make this hall more internationally renowned," Hara said. "The great concert halls of the world have much longer histories than ours, but I hope our hall will be on a par with them in terms of the quality of what we present here."

 Hara also said that the hall is putting more emphasis on education, such as concerts for children, reduced priced seats for students and educational programs for adults and young musicians.

 Special programs celebrating the 20th anniversary are already under way. In all, there will be 39 programs produced at the venue this year, whereas in an average year there are about 30 such programs. In addition, there will be more concerts put on by outside promoters and organizations, which will also join the anniversary celebrations. In short, there is hardly a day when the venue will be dark.

 The monumental event that stands out in the first half of the year is the hall opera Turandot on April 3, 6 and 9, featuring Nicola Luisotti on the podium, Andrea Gruber in the title role and Vincenzo La Scola as Calaf.

 "The idea of 'hall opera'--to use a concert hall as an opera stage--was quite new to Japanese audiences when it started, but now it's one of our most popular programs," Hara said.

 The following month, veteran baritone Renato Bruson will join Japanese singers and music students in a performance of Falstaff on May 10 and give a recital celebrating his 45 years as a singer on May 13. And pianist Yefim Bronfman, violinist Gil Shaham and cellist Truls Mork will perform together on May 28.

 Nearer in time is a memorial concert for the late composer Toru Takemitsu, which will be held on Feb. 10, exactly 10 years after his death, by the NHK Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its music director, Vladimir Ashkenazy.

 The climax of the festival will come in the autumn, starting with the 20th Anniversary Gala Concert on Sept. 15, featuring popular kyogen artist Nomura Mansai and other stars of traditional Japanese music.

 Mitsuko Uchida, one of the world's most celebrated pianists, will play Beethoven sonatas on Sept. 16 and 18, followed by a semistaged performance of Tan Dun's opera Tea, commissioned by Suntory Hall and premiered at the venue in 2002.

 Great tenors Neil Schicoff, Giuseppe Sabbatini and Vincenzo La Scola will give a joint gala concert on Oct. 6 and 9, and the Lucerne Festival, one of the most prestigious music festivals in Europe, will make its first performance in Japan at the venue Oct. 11-19 with none other than Claudio Abbado on the podium and Maurizio Pollini at the piano.

 Like Uchida, Abbado is one of the artists who participated in the venue's opening concert series 20 years ago, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. This time, the orchestra will be back with Nicolaus Harnoncourt between Nov. 3 and 13.

 Rounding out the big names, cellist Yo-Yo Ma also will play the complete unaccompanied cello suites of Bach on Nov. 4-7.

 Toru Takemitsu Memorial Concert will take place on Feb. 20, 7 p.m. "Turandot" will be performed on April 3, 6, 6:30 p.m. and April 9, 4 p.m., "Falstaff" will be performed on May 10, 6:30 p.m., the Renato Bruson Recital will be given on May 13, 6:30 p.m., Bronfman, Shaham and Mork Trio will play on May 28, 7 p.m. All shows at Suntory Hall in Akasaka, Tokyo. Tickets for performances from September onward will be on sale from April onward. For information, visit
http://www.suntory.co.jp/suntoryhall/english/index.html or call (03) 3584-9999.

Copyright 2006 The Yomiuri Shimbun
No reproduction or republication.