Waseda Symphony Orchestra Tokyo

About this event

The Waseda Symphony Orchestra Tokyo arrives from Japan with an unusual programme that pairs Western orchestral tradition with the physical power of Japanese Taiko drumming. The players are university students — future lawyers, doctors, and engineers — but the ensemble sounds anything but amateur: it's a full-size symphony orchestra performing with the focus and polish of a professional group. For this Frankfurt concert, the orchestra is joined by Taiko master Eitetsu Hayashi and his ensemble Eitetsu Fu-un no Kai, whose magnificent drums transform the stage into a ritual-percussion landscape. The centrepiece is Christian Jost's symphonic poem 'Seven Samurai – Five Shadows of Time', which channels the spirit of Kurosawa’s classic film through an explosive dialogue between orchestra and Taiko players. Flanking it are two towering works: Tōru Takemitsu's shimmering 'Lanterns on Blue Waters' and Gustav Holst's ever-popular 'The Planets', a suite that sweeps from the militaristic 'Mars' to the ethereal 'Neptune'. Together they create an evening of huge cinematic sound, guided by conductor Kiyotaka Teraoka. Expect moments of serene beauty, fierce rhythm, and the kind of big-orchestra thrill that fills every corner of the Alte Oper's main hall.