Tokyo Ensemble

The Tokyo Ensemble ( Japanese 東京 ア ン サ ン ブ ル ) is a chamber orchestra made up of leading Japanese strings and supplemented by winds if necessary . It is one of the few chamber orchestras in the world that can successfully perform without a conductor , because the Tokyo Ensemble rehearses like a string quartet during intensive rehearsal phases . The Tokyo Ensemble is not a full-time institution, but works on a project basis, similar to the well-known Chamber Orchestra of Europe . The members of the ensemble meet once or twice a year for an intensive rehearsal phase as well as concerts and tours.

There are only a few chamber ensembles and orchestras in Japan. With the exception of the Tokyo String Quartet , which was founded in the United States, no Japanese chamber ensemble has achieved international recognition.

Founded in 2001 by the conductor and violinist Joji Hattori , the Tokyo Ensemble received an invitation from the Tokyo Opera City Foundation in the year it was founded. This was soon followed by other national and international appearances, including an invitation to Seoul in 2002, a tour through Portugal with pianist Maria João Pires in June 2003 , China in 2005 and a concert tour to Canada in August 2006 at the invitation of the Vancouver Festival.

On the occasion of the first concert, the Japanese composer Ikuma Dan dedicated his last work Two Fragments in Black and Yellow for solo violin and string quartet to the ensemble .

Web links

• News. Tokyo Ensemble, 2013, accessed November 25, 2014 (English, Ensemble's website (Japanese / English)).