Land of Tomorrow : Beethoven 9 concert

When we walked into the arena after our morning rehearsal yesterday, it was miraculously filled with 10,000 people, ready and eager to sing Beethoven 9. My stand partner, a Japanese cellist who plays in Chiba near Tokyo turned to me and said, "Incredible, and we will make music with all of these people." Yes, indeed. My stand partner said that his orchestra was actually also playing Beethoven 9 this week, but he that chose to come have this experience with us. Understandable. I feel quite honored to have been a part of such a production. There were surprise pop star guests for the first half of the three-hour concert about whom we were sworn to secrecy (truth be told, I couldn't tell you their names even now), a warm-hearted blind pianist with whom we played the third movement of a Rachmaninov piano concerto, and glow sticks waved by everyone at the very end for a group encore of Auld Lang Syne. Even though I wasn't quite sure of the explicit thread that connected all of these things, I understand it. And it makes sense in Japan where there is a feeling of community in a very large sense. Where it is worth the time, effort, money, and vision to have this sort of ceremony and celebration in honor of the brotherhood of mankind. We were kindly asked to refrain from taking pictures and in all honesty, I'm not sure that I could capture it. But I will share this video of last year's broadcast (this year should be available at some point....). It is well worth watching at least a little bit of it just to get the idea. Beethoven 9 with 10,000 voices

And following the concert was reception of incredible food. The concert is sponsored by Suntory and therefore the alcohol is free-flowing. This is also accompanied by many long free-flowing speeches. Some things in Japan are large.