La Folle Journée au Japon 2019

LA FOLLE JOURNÉE TOKYO 2019

May 3rd–5th (Friday –Sunday, consecutive national holidays) Tokyo International Forum, Otemachi/Marunouchi/Yurakucho, Kyobashi, Ginza, Nihonbashi, Hibiya area
Organizer: LA FOLLE JOURNÉE TOKYO 2019 Steering Committee
(KAJIMOTO / Tokyo International Forum / MITSUBISHI ESTATE)
Planning and Production: CREA / KAJIMOTO

What's LFJ?

What is La Folle Journée ?

What is La Folle Journée ?

La Folle Journée is a classical music festival which was born in 1995 in the French western port town of Nantes. The name of the festival refers to the play by Pierre Beaumarchais The Marriage of Figaro, whose alternative title is The Follies of a Day. As its name, it is one of the most exciting musical festivals in Europe and in the world. Each year a new theme is given by which composers and pieces are chosen. In the convention centre “Cité des congrès Nantes”, there are 9 halls, where multiple concerts of 45 minutes in length are held simultaneously from morning until night. Artists include young and upcoming, to world renown, 300 concerts in 5 days! You can choose concerts you like and spend the whole day immersed in music!
Tickets are at a surprisingly low price from 6 euros to 30 euros (about 700 to 3000 yen). The Artistic Director, René Martin’s wish was to attract a new audience that could be a part of supporting music while enjoying top quality concerts in this unique carefree setting. 60% of the visitors are first timers to classical concerts including many children.
The unique concept of La Folle Journée has expanded abroad with festivals taking place in Lisbon, Portugal from 2000, Bilbao, Spain from 2002, and Tokyo, Japan from 2005. La Folle Journée was also held in Kanazawa, Japan and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2008, Niigata and Lake Biwa, Japan, Warsaw, Poland in 2010, Tosu City Japan in 2011, and Ekaterinburg, Russia in 2015 which all brought sensational success in each city.

The evolution of the “Classical music revolution” in Tokyo.

The evolution of the “Classical music revolution” in Tokyo.

La Folle Journée was born in 1995 in the French port town of Nantes and came to Japan in 2005 as « La Folle Journée au Japon ». In 2007, there were over 1 million visitors, and in 2018 a total of 8.23 million visitors from its beginning in 2005, becoming the world’s largest classical music festival. In 2015, traditional themes were revamped by, for example, featuring the festival on one composer. Each year a unique theme is selected, creating programs that delve beyond generation, genre and country, enhancing the encounter with music with adventure and discovery. Since 2018, the music festival’s name changed from “La Folle Journée au Japon” to “La Folle Journée TOKYO” together with a new logo designed by the creative director Kashiwa Sato, revitalizing the festival’s identity.

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How the Festival Got Its Name.

How the Festival Got Its Name.

When René Martin planned the first festival in 1995 the theme was “Mozart.” The concept was to hold a two-day concert in multiple venues where music was played around the clock, a music festival that was truly festive. He got his inspiration for its name from Beaumarchais’ play La Folle Journée, or Le Mariage de Figaro (The Mad Day or The Marriage of Figaro). Mozart based his opera upon this play, which was published in 1784. It was a revolutionary work that overturned the values of its day and is even said to have lit the fuse for the French Revolution. Its title La Folle Journée was a perfect match for René Martin’s dream of sweeping away the various barriers that keep people away from classical music. The poster for the first La Folle Journée showed a silhouette of Mozart’s thumbing his nose humorously. It was an image of Mozart, the iconoclast who defied the conventions of his day.

Six Charms of La Folle Journée

1) An innovative theme is proposed every year
2) The length of each concert is only 45 minutes: audience can catch several concerts if they wish and experience a variety of concerts all day from morning to evening
3) Concerts by top Japanese and visiting artists are offered at low prices
4) A variety of free events are proposed
5) From families with babies to ardent music lovers, listeners from all kinds of backgrounds can enjoy live performances in a relaxed setting
6) A great festivity that fills the city with music

René Martin

Artistic Director René Martin

Main Features of La Folle Journée 2019

2019 Theme: “Carnets de voyage – Music inspired by travel”

Throughout time, composers have seeked inspiration by travelling to new places. They would express impressions from their travels in their work. Various pieces inspired by travel will be introduced in LFJ music festival’s diverse program. For example, Mozart composed numerous pieces travelling across Europe in the 18th century, and Haydn lived several years in London where he composed his last symphonies. Liszt was the “voyager” of the Romantic period. A true “citizen of the world”, Liszt put impressions of his stay in Italy in his second set of “Années de pèlerinage” or “Years of pilgrimage”. Ravel and Chabrier have composed some of their most beautiful pages (“Spanish Rhapsody” and “España Rhapsody for Orchestra”) after travelling to Spain. In this way, the next LFJ will feature the pieces that were composed with the impact found during travels by composers of various periods. The artists and a part of the program will be announced in December 2018.

Concert Recommendation

In LFJ, there are 124 concerts in 3 days.
Here are some tips to create your own program! Bon voyage!

LFJbear

The color of the concert number corresponds to the Hall

  • Hall A
  • Hall B5.B7
  • Hall C
  • Hall D7
  • Hall G409

The first digit of the concert number corresponds to the day of the concert 100 May 3 (Fri) 200 May 4 (Sat) 300 May 5 (Sun)

① For LFJ debutants:Masterpieces of classical music
  • Mendelssohn – Symphony No.4 ‘Italian’
    212
  • Gershwin - "An American in Paris“
    225
    243
    324
    345
  • Dvořák - Symphony No 9 “From the New World"
    343
  • Tchaïkovsky - Violin Concerto
    116
  • Chopin - Piano Concerto No.1
    216
  • Gershwin - "Rhapsody in Blue “
    315
  • Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade
    314
② Supreme concertos that we highly recommend
  • Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.3 (Nelson Goerner)
    114
  • Chopin: Piano Concerto No.1 --- (Nelson Goerner)
    216
    Chopin: Piano Concerto No.2 --- (Boris Berezovsky)
    115
  • Tchaïkovsky : Violin Concerto (Mayuko Kamio)
    116
  • Mozart : Violin Concerto No.5 (Fumika Mohri)
    212
  • Saint-Saëns : Piano Concerto No. 5 "Egyptian" (Abdel Rahman El Bacha)
    213
  • Prokofiev : Piano Concerto No. 3 (Alexander Gadjiev)
    214
  • Rachmaninov : Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Kotaro Fukuma)
    312
③ You can enjoy 2 soloists in one concert:
  • Anne Queffélec (piano) x Nicolas Baldeyrou (basset clarinet)
    113
  • Marie-Ange Nguci (piano) x Miyuji Kaneko(piano)
    313
  • Makoto Ozone (piano) x Frank Braley (piano)
    315
  • Jean-Claude Pennetier (piano) x Jonas Vitaud (piano)
    245
④ Rene Martin's top selection of “Young talent“
  • Anastasia Kobekina (cello)
    156
    247
    316
  • Alexander Gadjiev (piano)
    214
  • Diana Tishchenko (violin)
    141
    316
  • Marie-Ange Nguci (piano)
    167
    263
    313
  • Fumika Mohri (violin)
    212
⑤ Special program of LFJ TOKYO 2019
  • An exciting trip through music, with various sounds from travelling Eastern Europe to Russia, wandering music, klezmer and tzigane x balalaïka!
    125
    222
    316
    321
  • Experience the "Grand Tour" travels of 18th century English aristocrats, through the narration of actor Tetsuya Bessho and Baroque music ensemble
    126
    226
  • "Carnets de voyage" : To the rhythms of the fandango, fados and tangos, guitarist Emmanuel Rossfelder and his friends take us on a poetic journey
    133
    234
  • Polyphonic choir from Corsica
    135
    236
    333
  • Inspired by gods from Nordic mythology, earth, nature as themes, choir and Japanese drums are in harmony creating a mysterious world
    221
  • A “Musical Silk Road", travelling from the Mediterranean to the Far East with an ensemble of various musical instruments
    223
    322
  • A homage to Liszt who travelled to Constantinople, Turkey
    224
    357
  • From the Champs-Elysees to Central Park, "An American in Paris" and "A Frenchman in New York" performed in one concert!
    345
  • A splendid comic opera with spoken dialogue, Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Diva Opera, accompanied by piano
    127
    227
    326
⑥ Concerts to enjoy with children!
  • 111
    125
    143
    145
    211
    222
    225
    242
    243
    311
    321
    324

LFJbear

Contact

La Folle Journée Music Festival Secretariat Office
call03-3574-6833
(Mon.-Fri.10:00-18:30)
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