Minnesota Orchestra in Japan: Mindy Ratner Reports

Mindy Ratner Reports from Japan MPR classical music host Mindy Ratner caught up with the Minnesota Orchestra on its tour of Japan and has filed the reports below. (Listed most-recent-first.) Listen in RealAudio: Sept. 21, Sept. 23
Sunday, 27 September, 1998 Time for us all to part, and it wasn't easy! Orchestra on its way north to play in Morioka and then Akita tomorrow and then home. I go back to Beijing. I need a vacation from my vacation! Saturday, 26 September, 1998 Took the free day and accompanied a group for the orchestra on a journey to a beautiful town called Kamakura. Temples in the area, and a huge statue of Buddha not far away. It rained much of the day but we were content to wander about nonetheless. Lovely lunch of noodles in a place called Hase. My last chance at sushi in the evening...divine! Friday, 25 September, 1998 A great day for me. Had a wonderful and very moving reunion with my father's cousin Harold and his wife Fumie, whom I have not seen in about ten years when they visited Boston relatives. Harold went to Japan with the Occupation Forces in 1946...and stayed! His wife, who is from a town near Nagasaki, is a professor of French. They took me to a great tempura place for lunch and then to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which was very interesting. They also came with me to the concert - Mozart #39 and the Mahler Fifth. The Adagietto movement was, I think, one of the orchestra's finest moments. Difficult to describe this sublime music played in the most exquisite concert hall I think I've ever seen! All the encores, all the flowers and applause that wouldn't quit. In fact, the scene was much like Nagoya - the audience kept calling Maestro Oue out for bows even after the stage was clear of musicians. What an occasion! Thursday, 24 September, 1998 Packed our bags once again and headed for Tokyo. Everyone seems in great spirits and ready for Suntory Hall. One dark moment as we were on the bus to Nagoya Station, sitting in a traffic tie-up. Saw an old man being beaten by a police officer. Don't know what precipitated it but it looked awful. The policeman's female companion put the incident to an end and the two of them left. We did see the man get back on his bicycle and slowly ride away. The bus got kind of quiet after that. The train ride to Tokyo took about two hours and was, again, a pleasure. Had a nice chat with one of the musicians as he discovered the culinary treasures in his mystery lunch box! Everything looked beautiful and tasted good too, so I bought one as well and enjoyed it thoroughly! The concert program consisted of the Bernstein pieces for the first half and Beethoven Seventh for the second. Both received with endless applause, so the encores were also dished up. The concert promoter was there, and said that a hard-to-please Japanese critic was sitting near him; he is reported to have said "Where did you find this orchestra???" I trust a great review will be forthcoming at some point - apparently it sometimes takes a couple of weeks for music reviews to appear. Suntory Hall is magnificent! Wednesday, 23 September, 1998 A holiday in Japan, so there's not much to do but shop this morning. Uh-oh, watch the pocketbook... this town is on the smallish size, by Japanese standards, I think, but the department stores are just beautiful and things are quite expensive! Took the train to Nagoya... just a one-hour ride this time. Not enough time to get a nap. I am amazed at how the musicians hold up so well. As for me, I could use a good night's sleep! A bit of rehearsal at the hall which is, without doubt, the most beautiful one so far. About two years old, with the hall built in amphitheatre style. We are all a bit blown away by the gorgeousness of the space AND by the huge sound of it - the Bernstein "Candide" and "West Side Story" just about knocked everybody's socks off! Beethoven Seventh fit the hall just perfectly! The ovation was of the sort I've never seen before - the audience simply would NOT let the Maestro leave, and called him out for more bows even after the stage was pretty much empty! Must go, for the moment...will report on the Tokyo concerts later, after I meet up with my father's cousin, who has lived in Japan for more than 50 years! I'll give you a hint though - last night was smashing! Tuesday, 22 September, 1998 Took the bullet train to Shizuoka in the morning. Another beautiful ride, and just in time - we barely managed to outrun Typhoon Stella, which was headed our way! In fact, we were on the last bullet train out of Osaka before the storm got there, and all transportation was shut down for a while. Yikes! Later, when leaving Shizuoka for the run-out concert in Yaizu the wind was blowing like crazy, but we were already out of harm's way. Concert a great success, as usual - the first time I heard the Stravinsky "Firebird" on tour, plus Mahler again, and Shostakovich "Tahiti Trot" and Bernstein "Candide" Overture for encores. Maestro Oue sure knows how to leave them wanting more! Monday, 21 September, 1998 A free day for the Orchestra. Many musicians went to see the temples in Kyoto. For me, a journey of another sort. I got together with a small entourage of orchestra people and took the train to Kobe to the synagogue there. Today, you see, is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The synagogue is Sephardic in practice, making it VERY different from that to which I am accustomed, with prayers chanted using melodies I have never heard before. The congregation was formed decades ago by people from places like Turkey and Iraq and other exotic places... with names like Sassoon and Haddad and Choueke and such. The service was an Orthodox one, with women seated separate from the men - now that's something different for me. Reminded me that I was in a different country.... People there from all over the world there to worship today, including a wonderful older couple from Israel who made us all feel very much at home, even though they themselves were en route to New Zealand. After services, a huge lunch and then back on the train to Osaka. An experience I will never forget.... Sunday, 20 September, 1998 Took the bullet train to Osaka and then a runout to Ibaraki, the sister city of Minneapolis. Mayor Sharon Sayles-Belton on hand for a fine program of Mozart and Beethoven. A beautiful reception afterward (more incredible food!) and then exhaustion! Saturday, 19 September, 1998 A day spent, mostly, at the Peace Park and museum in Hiroshima. Saw the remains of the one building left standing after the A-bomb was dropped on this port city on 6 August 1945. Difficult to find the right words to describe it. Several shrines with many chains of origami "peace cranes." We were all very quiet... Concert in the evening - Stravinsky's Firebird and Mahler again. The orchestra is really tight! Wonderful playing! Two encores, very enthusiastic applause but the Japanese are not in the habit of standing ovations. Warm and polite at the same time. Friday, 18 September, 1998 A long day of travel for me to catch up with the Minnesota Orchestra, already on its first-ever tour of Japan. Flew from Beijing to Shanghai to Osaka; then, two trains to Hiroshima. Arrived at the hall with about 15 minutes to spare! A fabulous concert - Bernstein's "West Side Story" and Mahler's Symphony No. 5. The performance was truly outstanding, and the audience kept calling Maestro Oue back to the stage. Three encores, lots of flowers and bows. Also for me, a great reunion with friends I've missed. The reception which followed was marvelous! Hiroshima is Eiji Oue's home town, and he was received in style. There was a lovely ceremony in which a new cask of sake was opened and the contents served to those gathered at the reception. Food as beautiful as it was tasty! - or should that be the other way around?