and Arts Centre Melbourne present 26 28 APRIL 2018 CONCERT PROGRAM Proudly supported by Asia TOPA
A MESSAGE FROM CONSUL- GENERAL MATSUNAGA It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Studio Ghibli in Concert. As Consul-General, I am thankful for events like these that strengthen the Victoria-Japan relationship. It is said that some of the buildings in Hayao Miyazaki s films remind people of Flinders Street Station and other famous landmarks around the world. For me, Miyazaki s works create a sense of nostalgia, as my home is located in Mitaka near the Studio Ghibli office and Ghibli Museum. It is wonderful that the interpretation of Miyazaki s films depends on the imagination of the individual. Through these films, viewers experience meaningful stories, beautiful colours, and animated landscapes, all of which are accompanied by the iconic scores of composer Joe Hisaishi. Mr Hisaishi s music and the catalogue of Studio Ghibli movies are loved not only throughout Japan but all over the world. There are many students studying Japanese here and I hope that bringing Japanese culture to Melbourne will encourage them and all Victorians to visit Japan in the future. This partnership really is testament to the reverence of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and I would like to congratulate the organisers and musicians on such a wonderful collaboration. Last but not least, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Joe Hisaishi for sharing his beautiful music with us over the course of these performances and bringing so much joy to the people of Victoria. Kazuyoshi Matsunaga Consul-General of Japan, Melbourne A MESSAGE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN Australia enjoys a strong relationship with Japan, a trusted partner with shared values and interests. We enhance our cultural connections and economic engagement through programs like Australia now, which celebrates contemporary Australia in a focus country or region each year. I am delighted that Japan is our host for 2018. Presenting the best of Australian innovation, creativity and lifestyle, Australia now builds on the deep and long-standing ties between Australia and Japan and promotes exchange, partnership and strategic cooperation. In the spirit of Australia now 2018, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra presenting the Studio Ghibli Concert will showcase creative collaboration and highlight the strength of our enduring relationship with Japan. H.E. Mr Richard Court AC Australian Ambassador to Japan In consideration of your fellow patrons, the MSO thanks you for silencing and dimming the light on your phone. The MSO acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are performing. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present, and the Elders from other communities who may be in attendance. NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND The Legend of the Wind Nausicaä Requiem The Battle between Mehve and Corvette The Distant Days The Bird Man KIKI S DELIVERY SERVICE A Town with an Ocean View Heartbroken Kiki Mother s Broom PRINCESS MONONOKE The Legend of Ashitaka The Demon God Princess Mononoke (Soprano: Antoinette Halloran) THE WIND RISES (Mandolin: Ken Murray) A Journey (A Dream of Flight) Nahoko (The Encounter) A Journey (A Kingdom of Dreams) PONYO ON THE CLIFF BY THE SEA Deep Sea Pastures Mother Sea (Soprano: Antoinette Halloran) Ponyo s Sisters Lend a Hand A Song for Mothers and the Sea Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea All Music by Joe Hisaishi Original Orchestration: Joe Hisaishi Orchestration: Chad Cannon Executive Producer: Tim Fox (CAMI), Toshio Suzuki (Studio Ghibli) Director: Joe Hisaishi Music Director: Shinji Kawamoto (Wonder City) Assistant Director: Satomi Takahashi Production: Kazuko Takayasu, Shinichiro Takasugi (Promax) Artist Management: Maki Fujisawa (Wonder City), Yusuke Yamashita (Wonder City), Akiko Suzawa (Wonder City), Yoshiaki Miura (Wonder City) INTERVAL CASTLE IN THE SKY Doves and the Boy Carrying You PORCO ROSSO Bygone Days HOWL S MOVING CASTLE Symphonic Variation Merry-go-round + Cave of Mind SPIRITED AWAY One Summer s Day Reprise (Vocals: Mai Fujisawa) MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO The Path of the Wind Hey Let s Go (Vocals: Mai Fujisawa & Soprano: Antoinette Halloran) My Neighbour Totoro (Vocals: Mai Fujisawa & Soprano: Antoinette Halloran) Special thanks: Studio Ghibli, Yutaka Toyama (Promax), Ayame Fujisawa (Wonder City) Screen Movie Editing: Kenichi Itagaki Music Preparation Supervisor: Daniel A. Brown, Wonder City Music Preparation Services by: Michael Bahnmiller, Dalton Daniel, Jennifer Fagre, Luke Flynn, Jonathan Keith, Robert Lewandowski, Trevor Motyka, Junko Tamura, Saori Minomo Columbia Artists Management: Tim Fox, Alison Williams, Alek Deve, Arne Bock
ARTISTS Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Joe Hisaishi conductor and piano Mai Fujisawa vocals Antoinette Halloran soprano Ken Murray mandolin Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Established in 1906, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an arts leader and Australia s oldest professional orchestra. Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis has been at the helm of MSO since 2013. Engaging more than 3 million people each year, the MSO reaches a variety of audiences through live performances, recordings, TV and radio broadcasts and live streaming. Its international audiences include China, where MSO has performed in 2012, 2016 and again in 2018, Europe (2014) and Indonesia, where in 2017 it performed at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Prambanan Temple. The MSO also works with Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey and Assistant Conductor Tianyi Lu, as well as with such eminent recent guest conductors as Tan Dun, John Adams, Jakub Hrůša and Jukka- Pekka Saraste. It has also collaborated with non-classical musicians including Elton John, Nick Cave, and Flight Facilities. The MSO reaches a wider audience through regular radio broadcasts, recordings and CD releases, including the February 2018 release of a collaboration with Chinese violin virtuoso Lu Siqing. JOE HISAISHI CONDUCTOR/ PIANO Joe Hisaishi was born in Nagano, Japan. He started to show his interest in minimal music when he was a student at Kunitachi College of Music, and started his career as a modern music composer. Presentation of MKWAJU in 1981 and the release of his first album Information in the following year kicked-off of his career as a solo artist. Since his debut, he has released nearly 40 solo albums, including Minima_Rhythm (2009), Melodyphony (2010) and the latest solo album The End of the World (2016). Starting with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Hisaishi has produced music for 10 Hayao Miyazaki films. He also composed the music for HANA-BI (1998) directed by Takeshi Kitano, Departures (2008) directed by Yojiro Takita, Villain (2010) directed by Sang-il Lee, The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013) directed by Isao Takahata and The Little House (2014) directed by Yoji Yamada. He has collaborated on the music production of nearly 80 films at home and abroad. His works have won many awards including multiple Best Music Score of Japan Academy Film Prizes, Outstanding Music in an Animated Feature Production for Spirited Away, Best Original Film Music Award of the 4 th Korean Film Awards for the Korean film Welcome to Dongmakgol, and Best Original Film Score of the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards for Chinese film The Postmodern Life of My Aunt. In 2001, he made his debut as a film director with Quartet, taking charge of the theme music and co-writing the script. The film was officially invited for the World Competition section of the Montreal World Film Festival. In May 2004 at Cannes International Film Festival, Hisaishi became the first Japanese musician to conduct an orchestra live at a film screening, to the Buster Keaton masterpiece The General. In July 2004, he assumed a music director of New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra. At the concert Joe Hisaishi in Budokan held in August 2008, he completed a sensational accomplishment by leading a large group of orchestra, choirs and marching bands totalling 1,200 musicians while conducting and playing piano. In 2013, he assumed the role of Artistic Director of Nagano City Arts Centre. In September 2014, he has been working as a producer and conductor, and holding contemporary music concerts called JOE HISAISHI presents MUSIC FUTURE, which have earned him enormous popularity. In 2009, he received the Purple Ribbon medal of honour from the government of Japan. Hisaishi serves as an Invited Professor at Kunitachi College of Music. Some of his most recent works include Contrabass Concerto (2015), TRI-AD for Large Orchestra (2016) and The East Land Symphony (2016). His unique inputs to the concerts as a contemporary musical composer is highly appreciated and his continuous enthusiasm for musical activities that go beyond ordinary creative work is anticipated worldwide. MAI FUJISAWA VOCALS Mai Fujisawa is a Japanese singer and lyricist born in Tokyo. She made her debut on screen at the age of 4, singing Nausicäa Requiem from her father Joe Hisaishi's soundtrack to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Studio Ghibli's earliest film. In 2012, she sang the opening theme of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, with music by Alexandre Desplat. In 2015, the UN's 70 th memorial year, she joined the UN Singers Peace and Hope Concert Tour in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a guest singer and served as producer for the Tokyo performance. In 2016, she sang and wrote lyrics for the theme song for an American documentary film about WW called Paper Lanterns, with music by young American composer Chad Cannon. Mai also sang the main theme for Clouds Above the Hill, a long-running historical drama series on NHK TV about the Meiji Revolution, based on the original story by Ryotaro Shiba. Additionally, she wrote and sang the ending theme song for Ojarumaru, an anime TV show commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of WW, which was overwhelmingly popular among children in Japan. ANTOINETTE HALLORAN SOPRANO One of Australia s most accomplished and best-loved sopranos, Antoinette Halloran performs regularly with all the major Australasian opera companies and symphony orchestras and appears frequently on national television and radio. In 2017, she sang the title role in Tosca for West Australian Opera (Helpmann Award nomination), The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen for Victorian Opera, was associate artist for José Carreras National Tour and was soloist with the Melbourne, West Australian and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras. She returns to Opera Australia in 2018 as Praskovya in The Nose and makes major appearances with Victorian Opera and Opera Queensland. Engagements for Opera Australia have included the title roles in Madama Butterfly and Rusalka, Mimi in La bohème, Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire (Green Room Award), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus.
MESSAGE FROM JOE HISAISHI 久石譲です メルボルンの皆さんの前でコンサートができることを大変嬉しく思っています 僕が宮崎さんの映画を担当するようになってから 30 年以上も経っています まさに奇跡です そして次の新作のオファーも頂いています とても嬉しい限りです 宮崎さんの映画は我々に 生きる という意味と 生きる喜び を教えてくれます その中で書いてきた音楽はまさに僕の人生そのものでもあります 今宵 皆さんとその世界を共有できることは 望外の喜びです 楽しい時間を過ごしていただけると幸いです 久石譲 2018 年 4 月 I am Joe Hisaishi. KEN MURRAY MANDOLIN Ken Murray has developed a career as a guitarist combining performance, composition, teaching and research. He has championed and recorded Spanish music from the early twentieth century worked extensively with contemporary Australian composers and has been active as a performer of Brazilian and South American musical styles. He graduated with a PhD from the University of Melbourne, where he is Senior Lecturer at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHORUS For more than 50 years the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus has been the unstinting voice of the Orchestra s choral repertoire. The MSO Chorus sings with the finest conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Edward Gardner, Mark Wigglesworth, Bernard Labadie, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Manfred Honeck, and is committed to developing and performing new Australian and international choral repertoire. Commissions include Brett Dean s Katz und Spatz, Ross Edwards Mountain Chant, and Paul Stanhope s Exile Lamentations. Recordings by the MSO Chorus have received critical acclaim. It has performed across Brazil and at the Cultura Inglese Festival in Sao Paolo, with The Australian Ballet, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, at the AFL Grand Final and at Anzac Day commemorative ceremonies. WARREN TREVELYAN-JONES MSO CHORUS MASTER Warren Trevelyan-Jones is the Head of Music at St James, King Street in Sydney and is regarded as one of the leading choral conductors and choir trainers in Australia. Warren has had an extensive singing career as a soloist and ensemble singer in Europe, including nine years in the Choir of Westminster Abbey, and regular work with the Gabrieli Consort, Collegium Vocale (Ghent), the Taverner Consort, The Kings Consort, Dunedin Consort, The Sixteen and the Tallis Scholars. Warren is also Director of the Parsons Affayre, Founder and Co-Director of The Consort of Melbourne. MESSAGE FROM TOSHIO SUZUKI 宮崎駿と久石譲が出会って 35 年 あの時 あの場面で ふたりが出会っていなければ そう考えると空恐ろしくなる 久石譲のいないジブリなんて 繰り返すが 宮崎アニメには 久石譲一人しか似合わない 元気で行こう 絶望するな JOE の音楽を聴いて スタジオジブリ鈴木敏夫 I am excited to perform this concert in front of the people of Melbourne. It has been more than 30 years since I began working with Mr Miyazaki on his movies. It s a miracle! I am blessed to have been offered the opportunity to work on Miyazaki s next new creation. Miyazaki s movies teach us about the meaning of life, and the joy of living. The music I have been writing for these movies is such a large part of my life. It gives me so much joy to be able to share this world with you. I hope you enjoy it. Joe Hisaishi April 2018 It has been 35 years since Hayao Miyazaki and Joe Hisaishi met; it is unimaginable to consider what would have happened if they hadn t met at that time. Joe Hisaishi is the only match for Miyazaki s anime. By listening to Joe s music, we are inspired to keep good spirits and to never give up hope. Toshio Suzuki Studio Ghibli
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