The heroic sound of Space Battleship Yamato

This year’s most popular concert with 1860 people

by Takahiro Saito, Hokkaido Shimbun [newspaper]

The powerful double concerto of the Space Battleship Yamato Grand Symphony was performed by the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tatsuya Shimono, featuring violinist Fumiaki Miura and pianist Ryuma Takagi in a masterpiece concert.

The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra’s “Forest Sound Friends Masterpiece Concert” was held on the 15th at the Sapporo concert hall Kitara, and conducted by Tatsuya Shimono. They performed the Space Battleship Yamato Grand Symphony, which depicts a journey to the far reaches of space.

The Grand Symphony is a 60-minute long piece composed by Kentaro Haneda in 1984, the 10th anniversary of the TV series. The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra’s first performance of the piece attracted 1,860 people, the largest audience for a classical music concert this year, including classical music lovers and fans from distant places such as Okinawa.

Following the first movement “Birth,” in which the main theme and Iscandar’s theme were played, the second movement “Battle” changed from an intense melody reminiscent of a battle scene to a gentle melody, the third movement “Prayer” featured a beautiful vocalization (singing without lyrics) by soprano singer Ayaka Oki, and the fourth movement “Hope for Tomorrow” featured a powerful duet by violinist Fumiaki Miura and pianist Ryoma Takagi. The concert ended on a heroic note with the main theme played by the orchestra again.

At the beginning of the concert, the second movement of Mozart’s Divertimento, Jupiter, was dedicated to former Sapporo Symphony Orchestra Principal Conductor Kazuyoshi Akiyama, who passed away in January.