“The Asia Tour” box set with the Berlin Philharmonic & Sir Simon Rattle

Yuja Wang is featured on the Berlin Philharmonic’s latest discography release titled “The Asia Tour,” now available for purchase on CD/Blu-ray and digital download formats. Yuja is the soloist for Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2, recorded in late 2017 at Suntory Hall in Tokyo with the ensemble and Maestro Rattle, marking his last extended tour as Music Director with the ensemble. Purchase your copy of this must-have set via the following link.

Tracklisting:

Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor
Seong-Jin Cho, piano
Yuja Wang, piano

Richard Strauss
Don Juan, op. 20

Béla Bartók
Piano Concerto No. 2, Sz 95

Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op. 98

Igor Stravinsky
Petrushka (revised version from 1947)

Unsuk Chin
Chorós Chordón

Sergei Rachmaninov
Symphony No. 3 in A minor, op. 44

Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto in G major*

Recordings from November 2017 from the Suntory Hall Tokyo
*Recording from November 2017 from the Philharmonie Berlin

Bonus video:
Documentary: »The Berliner Philharmoniker in Asia. A Tour Diary« (28 mins)

Description:

Sir Simon Rattle’s last Asia tour as chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker was a triumph, and is documented here in selected audio and video recordings. At the heart of this edition are audio recordings of the two final concerts at the legendary Suntory Hall in Tokyo – the musical and emotional highlight of the tour. “The quality of the orchestra delighted audiences,” said one critic. “It was a virtuoso display of ensemble playing that is simply indescribable.”

The repertoire of the concerts was varied, sonorous and full of musical connections. It included Richard Strauss’ Don Juan and Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, two works of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s core repertoire. In addition, with Don Juan – which was played on the first Japan tour with Karajan – the musicians paid tribute to the now sixty-year partnership with the local audience. Brahms, on the other hand, was a programmatic focus of the Rattle era – as well as Igor Stravinsky, whose Petrushka was performed on this tour. An exciting contrast to Stravinsky was Sergei Rachmaninov: a fellow countryman and contemporary, but personifying a completely different world of expression, as his Third Symphony showed. There were also performances bridging the gap between East and West – the work Chorós Chordón by Korean composer Unsuk Chin and two piano concertos with internationally successful Asian pianists: Maurice Ravel’s G major Concerto with Korea-born Seong-Jin Cho, and Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Chinese pianist Yuja Wang.

The audio recordings are available on 5 CD/SACDS, which can be played on any CD player. There are also Blu-Ray video recordings from the Hong Kong, Wuhan, and Seoul concerts, plus a bonus documentary. The booklet contains numerous introductory texts plus an extensive photo section with fascinating impressions of the tour.

Photo: Berlin Philharmonic