TOKYO SINFONIA IN FEBBRAIO: NOTIZIE DAL GIAPPONE

Soon the snow and ice will be a memory, and we can smell the approach of a new spring.

The month of February offers always, too, that first new hint of romance in the air. Inevitably, a young man’s thoughts turn to love. Young women’s too, of course. (And “young” is a relative term.) The nation most often associated with love and romance is, without question, France. Very fortunately, France is of also the nation most often associated with fine dining. We asked the FCCJ’s executive chef to create a menu for the dinner portion of our French Serenade which would titillate the palette and please our audience. The menu is always an important part of the attraction of our dinner-concerts. It brings us many people who have never heard an orchestra in live performance before. To be sure, our unique dinner-concerts have brought the Tokyo Sinfonia many new friends. The menu, in French, is listed below with the musical programme. That’s the way we present it, by the way, alternating the courses of the cuisine with those of the concert. As for the musical programme, this year we thought to look further into the incredible richness of French composers of the romantic period. We wanted to come up with a combination of musical selections as alluring and provocative — and mysterious — as those of the menu chosen by the chef de cuisine.

Trust our chef d’orchestre on this. Jules Massenet and Georges Bizet were both prolific opera composers and winners of the Conservatoire de Paris’ esteemed Prix de Rome, where Massenet later taught composition. Bizet only composed half as many operas, but tragically he died at the tender age of 36, shortly after the premiere of Carmen. Their two sets of scenes exotiques are evocative, colourfully scored, and very French. Irresistible. Edouard Lalo and Charles Gounod were likewise composers of operas, but Lalo was more known for his instrumental works and Gounod for his choral music. Their short pieces provide us a charming musical dessert. As they should. Do join us! Bring someone special with you. Valentine’s Day will have just passed, but romance shall remain with us always. Vive l’amour. FRENCH SERENADE DINNER-CONCERT National Serenade dinner-concert series No. 49 Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (Yurakucho) Feb. 16, Friday evening from 18:30 - doors open 18:00 Menu - Moules et Saumon Fumé avec Purée de Poireaux, Arôme de Vinaigre Music - Scènes Feéries (Jules Massenet) Menu - Boeuf Bourguignon à l’Étuvée au Vin Rouge Music - Scènes Bohémiennes (Georges Bizet) Menu - Mille Crêpes aux Baies Music - Scherzo (Edouard Lalo) • Marche d’une Marionette (Charles Gounod) Coffee/Tea, Cash Bar Supported by Embassy of France

TICKETS Single ￥9,335 • Group (2 or more) ￥8,445 each Sinfonia direct tickets@tokyosinfonia.com Peatix online (Fri.) http://peatix.com/event/323281 Paypal online https://www.paypal.jp Information Tel (03) 3588 0738 You can indeed order tickets using the convenience of peatix or paypal. You may also contact the Tokyo Sinfonia directly by phone or by emailing us at tickets@tokyosinfonia.com so we can look after you personally. See you at the Sinfonia With every good wish from Robert Ryker and the Tokyo Sinfonia COMING Tokyo Sinfonia in March Mendelssohn Serenade champagne concert Hakuju Hall (Yoyogi-koen) Mar. 14, Wednesday evening from 19:00 Overture to Ruy Blas Sinfonia for Strings in D Minor Overture to The Marriage of Camacho Symphony in C Minor, from Op. 11 Artists & audience champagne reception Tokyo Sinfonia in April Sinfonia Plus Daichi Nakamura violin serenade Hakuju Hall (Yoyogi-koen) Apr. 18, Wednesday evening from 19:00

Brahms - Intermezzo in A Minor, Op. 118 Brahms - Sonata No. 2 in A Major for Violin & Strings, Op. 100 Bach - Concerto No. 1 in A Minor for Violin & Strings, BWV 1041 Mozart - Concerto No. 3 in G Major for Violin & Strings, KV 216 Artists & audience reception Tokyo Sinfonia in May Russian Serenade dinner-concert Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (Yurakucho) May 18, Friday evening from 18:30 Russia Symphonic Poem (Balakirev) Symphony on Russian Themes (Glinka) Overture to The Mandarin’s Son (Cui) 3-course Russian dinner, Cash bar Info: tickets@tokyosinfonia.com Join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/tokyosinfonia Follow us on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/tokyo-sinfonia Follow us on Twitter @TokyoSinfonia19 http://www.tokyosinfonia.com the orchestra of 19!