Performer: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

In the National Ballet of Japan's Sleeping Beauty, the fulfilment and joy of being able to dance was apparent in the whole company and the result was glorious. 

Seven months ago, when Tokyo’s musical scene was brought to a standstill by the Covid-19 pandemic, it was hard to envisage any orchestra performing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony by December, an important year-end custom in Japan.

The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra reopened its doors to audiences with majestic Mendelssohn.

The most talked about new production in the New National Theatre Tokyo’s 20th anniversary season undercuts Beethoven’s idealism.

Several of Tokyo’s finest collaborate in successfully delivering a re-opening concert at Suntory Hall

The Tokyo Symphony gave the Japanese première of Shostakovich's Tenth in 1954, less than a year after its first performance in Leningrad. Jonathan Nott’s approach could scarcely have been more different.