The Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo Makes its New York Debut Today, 5/2; Tour to Follow

The Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo, one of Japan's foremost chamber orchestras, will make its New York debut tonight, May 2 at 7:30 pm at Alice Tully Hall. Conductor Thierry Fischer will lead the orchestra in popular works by Mozart and Beethoven, including Mozart's Overture from Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 with pianist Yu Kosuge, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major "Eroica."

Tickets, priced at $35 and $20, are available at the Alice Tully Hall box office, by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500 and online at www.lincolncenter.org. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to music activities in the areas affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

The concert is part of Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo's 2012 U.S. tour, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of Japan's gift of the cherry blossom trees to Washington D.C. and New York. Additional concerts will take place at Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on Friday, April 27; the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. on Sunday, April 29 as part of the 2012 National Cherry Blossom Festival; and the Sanders Theatre at Harvard University in Cambridge on Tuesday, May 1.

The Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo (KST) was founded in 1995 as the resident chamber orchestra of Kioi Hall, built to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Nippon Steel Corporation. The ensemble is comprised of leading soloists, chamber artists and principal players from orchestras throughout Japan. The ensemble performs five programs over ten subscription concerts annually, with many of the world's most notable artists appearing with the ensemble. This season at Kioi Hall, the ensemble will be led by conductors Jean-Pierre Wallez, Rolf Beck, Gábor Takács-Nagy and Stefan Sanderling, with pianist Eric Le Sage, soprano Agata Wilewska, and violinist Barnabás Kelemen appearing as soloists. Violinist Rainer Honeck and cellist Mario Brunello will also play/conduct with the orchestra. The KST has released five recordings showcasing a wide range of repertoire, from Baroque to contemporary on the Exton Hybrid, Avex, RCA and BIS labels.

The KST has previously toured Europe with performances in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Following the concert in the Netherlands, the Eindhovens Dagblad wrote "The Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo…showed an extraordinary sample of orchestral playing; something that for us in Western Europe is difficult to match…They can play everything, these Japanese musicians. One also would want to hear them play everything, simply because one is curious to hear to which heights they can elevate a piece of music."

Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer will make his Kioi Sinfonietta Orchestra debut. He is Music Director of the Utah Symphony Orchestra, where he has instituted a major commissioning program. 2011-2012 is his sixth and final season as Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and from 2008-2011 he was Chief Conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic, making his Suntory Hall debut in May 2010. He is a regular guest with the London Sinfonietta and has also conducted, the Ensemble Modern, Orchestre of the Age of Enlightenment, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, SWR Baden Baden, Berlin Konzerthausorchester and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, among others. This season he returns to the Netherlands Radio Chamber and Scottish Chamber orchestras and debuts with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Orchestre National de Belgique and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Fischer's conducting career began when he was in his 30's, directing his first few concerts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe where he was Principal Flute under Claudio Abbado. Fischer became Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Ulster Orchestra 2001-2006.

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The Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo Makes its New York Debut Today, 5/2; Tour to Follow May 02, 2012

The Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo Makes its New York Debut on 5/2, Tour to Follow March 27, 2012