Radio Orchestra – now at Hokkaido
Hokkaido is the most northerly of Japan’s islands – and is also the second most important. Though it has a cool climate, the members of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (PRSO), after rainy days at the start of their tour, enjoyed some sunshine there.
Sapporo is the capital of the prefecture of the same name and is the country’s fifth biggest city in terms of population. It hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972.
Sapporo’s impressive concert hall was built in 1997 and has become famous under the melodious nickname Kitara, which refers not only to the musical instrument but to the Japanese word “kita” (north). The large hall has a capacity of 2007.
It was just there that the PRSO performed, specifically Smetana’s Vltava, Dvořák’s Concerto in H minor with the Japanese soloist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Dvořák’s New World Symphony.
The ensemble delivered a similar programme, featuring instead of the cello concerto Beethoven’s “Fate”, two days earlier at an equally famous venue, Osaka’s Symphony Hall.
