- ARAB NEWS
- 20 May 2024
Since 1975
DUBAI: After announcing Japanese musician Daishin Kashimoto’s performance at Dubai Opera this year as part of InClassica, the event’s organizing company shared exclusively with Arab News Japan that the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra will make their debut Dubai performance at the event in 2025.
InClassica is an annual event that celebrates classical music with concerts that feature a multitude of acclaimed artists and orchestras who have won plaudits from audiences and critics all over the world. The event will take place at Dubai Opera this year.
Recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1911 and currently has around 166 members.
“We’re all very much looking forward to welcoming the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra here,” Alexandra Miteran, CEO of InClassica’s organizer company, SAMIT Group, told Arab News Japan. “Of course we’re also speaking to many other Japanese artists who we hope to see grace InClassica’s stage in the coming years.”
Additionally, Kashimoto graced the stage at the Dubai Opera stage on Feb. 8 and 10 as part of this edition’s InClassica. He is an award-winning classical violinist who has been the concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2009.
The violinist was the winner of the 1994 Cologne International Violin Competition, one of the most prestigious in Europe. He followed up in 1996 with another first-place prize at the Fritz Kreisler Competition.
The Feb. 8 event paired Kashimoto, in his first ever UAE performance, with famed Italian pianist Enrico Pace, a Grammy Award nominee and winner of the 1989 Utrecht International Franz Liszt Piano Competition.
Their duo performed a roster of classical hits, beginning with Mozart’s Violin Sonata No. 18 in G Major. The duo also featured Brahms’s 1879 Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, known as the Regensonate, and a contemporary piece born from the collaboration between Mikhail Pletnev and Alexey Shor. The performance culminates with Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 2, a piece that has captivated audiences since its 1853 premiere.
On Feb. 10, the duo of Kashimoto and Enrico were joined by Armenian/UK cellist Alexander Chaushian. Even though Kashimoto will perform as part of a duo or trio, you will clearly be able to make out the notes on his violin.
Kashimoto, who grew up in Japan and New York, grew up in a musical family. He shared with Arab News Japan that the classical music scene in Japan has been growing and improving. “In Japan, there are so many people coming to classical music concerts,” he said.
The musician looks forward to performing in other GCC countries in the future, like Saudi Arabia. He hopes that his performances and the Inclassica festival can promote classic music to younger generations.
“The great thing about classical music is that it comes from different cultures. People still love it and long for it,” he shared.
Furthermore, Miteran shared that it’s important to represent Japan at the festival so that attendees can get exposed to the world’s best musicians.
“We want to have the very best musicians in Dubai, masters of their craft who can really do justice to the hallowed music that has come down to us through the ages.” Miteran said, “So, to my mind, it is not just important but absolutely essential to have international artists present, both for the purposes of the music itself and also for the experience of our attendees.”
SAMIT Group also brought an international opera festival to Riyadh last month. “The Kingdom has really been opening up to the world over the past few years and has quickly become one of the fastest-growing players in the field,” Miteran reflected on the experience. “The Saudi people are an amazing audience, and we hope to return soon.”
This year’s InClassica will take place from Feb. 1 to 15. Tickets begin at ¥8,012 and are currently on sale on Dubai Opera’s website and Platinumlist.
Attendees must be 6 years of age or older to experience these mesmerizing performances, each lasting approximately two hours, including intermission.
Don’t miss this chance to witness an evening where the elegance of classical music meets the splendor of Dubai through the masterful strings of Kashimoto.
