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Symphonic Fantasies: Music from Square Enix
OrchestraWDR Radio Orchestra Cologne
ChoirWDR Radio Choir Cologne
ConductorArnie Roth
ComposerJonne Valtonen, Nobuo Uematsu, Hiroki Kikuta, Yoko Shimomura, Yasunori Mitsuda
ArrangerJonne Valtonen, Roger Wanamo
VenueCologne (Germany), Cologne Philharmonic Hall
Associated albumSymphonic Fantasies
Date(s)September 12, 2009
GuestsNobuo Uematsu, Hiroki Kikuta, Yoko Shimomura, Yasunori Mitsuda
Supporting act(s)Benyamin Nuss, Rony Barrak
ProducerThomas Böcker (Merregnon Studios)
concert chronology

Symphonic Fantasies: Music from Square Enix was an award winning symphonic tribute concert held in Cologne, Germany on the 12 September in 2009 featuring video game music from Japanese game developer Square Enix. The concert featured symphonic movements based on the titles Kingdom Hearts, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and the Final Fantasy series. The concert was produced and directed by Thomas Böcker, with arrangements provided by Finnish composers and musicians Jonne Valtonen and Roger Wanamo. Due to overwhelming demand, a second concert was necessitated at the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen, on 11 September 2009.[1]

The concert was performed by The WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and the WDR Radio Choir Cologne under conduction from Arnie Roth, with guest performers Rony Barrak and Benyamin Nuss joining the orchestra. It continued the template that had been set the years prior with the Symphonic Game Music Concerts concert series, and Symphonic Shades, which signaled the start of the WDR collaborated Symphonic series.[2]

Like Symphonic Shades the previous year, Symphonic Fantasies was broadcasted over radio on the WDR4 station and in addition, for the first time enabled viewers world-wide to experience the concert via live video streaming online.[3]

Symphonic Fantasies has become the most successful video game concert in European history, selling all of its tickets within hours of release, resulting in an award winning best selling album.[4] and continued critical acclaim. In 2012, 4 new performances were scheduled, taking stage in Tokyo,[5] Stockholm[6] and a reprise in Cologne.[7]

Concerts

Production

Thomas Böcker and then WDR director Winfried Fechner began collaborating on orchestrated video game concerts in 2007, after Fechner had attended the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert held in Leipzig. As their ideas and plans materialized, three initial projects were set in motion to determine the interest of a younger audience in classical music performance, and the performances of the WDR orchestra focusing on a new source of compositions. The first of which was PROMS: That's Sound, That's Rhythm, held in early 2008, featuring a mixture of classical works and video game music, ranging from works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Morton Gould as well as video games such as arrangements from Shenmue and Castlevania previously featured in Symphonic Game Music Concert. The second project was held in August 2008 and was a composer specific concert, focusing entirely on the works of German video game composer Chris Hülsbeck titled Symphonic Shades - Hülsbeck in Concert. The third project was then set to be a game company themed concert, focusing on multiple titles released by the same developer. This was later confirmed by Winfried Fechner to be Square Enix when he announced Symphonic Fantasies, a video game music concert to take place in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall on 12 September 2009.[8] A website was set up for announcements, interviews and other concert information.[9]

Böcker further explained that the decision to focus on Square Enix was made due to the incredible library of games to choose from, all of which have a distinct sound, and many being very well known in Germany.[10] Much emphasis was put on balancing out the concert program and the arrangements, to ensure the richness of the music featured in many of Square Enix's most popular title would allow for first time listeners, classical fans and longtime gamers to enjoy the concert.[10] The titles chosen to be featured in Symphonic Fantasies were Kingdom Hearts, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and the Final Fantasy series.[10] In order to select the pieces presented, the original composers were consulted to assemble a list of their personal favorites.

For the concert, Jonne Valtonen returned as the lead arranger, with 100% freedom of his own to arrange based on the outlines given to him by Böcker.[10] The time given to arrange all the music was six months,[10] in which Valtonen would study each and every song and refer to the composer's original intended expression. No Japanese guest arrangers were used for this concert in order to maintain a unique European take on the source material.[10] Due to the freedom given to Valtonen for this project, he brought in former classmate and close friend Roger Wanamo to assist on the arrangement of the music from the Chrono games.[11] On March 7, It was also announced that Valtonen had been commissioned to compose an original fanfare to be played at the start of the concert, along with a video preview of his composition.[12]

In total, the concerts received about two weeks of rehearsal time prior to their performances, more than any other game concert before.[13]

Shows

The first concert was held on September 11, 2009. It was an extra showing scheduled due to the unexpected high traffic of ticket sales, and strong demand after selling out the first run of tickets. This concert was held in the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen, 1 hour south of Cologne.

The second and main concert was held at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall on September 12, 2009. The concert was preceded by a Meet and Greet session that included the guests of honors, as well as arrangement team and guest artists for the show. The concert was completely sold out. Cologne Philharmonic Hall has 2,000 seats. The concert was performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and WDR Radio Choir Cologne, conducted by Arnie Roth. Juraj Cizmarovic was the concertmaster for the event.

The four game series featured were Kingdom Hearts, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger/Cross and Final Fantasy. The arrangements were structured as suites, dubbed “Fantasies”, with multiple songs from each game series positioned and arranged together to tell melodic stories rather than using the conventional medley structure more commonly heard in video game music arrangements. Before each Fantasy, the moderator would introduce the upcoming musical piece, as well as introduce the composer in attendance. Each "Fantasy" lasted for more than 15 minutes each.

Symphonic Fantasies was opened by an original composition by lead arranger Jonne Valtonen, titled Fanfare Overture. The composition was done in a style of traditional fanfares with some accentuated textures in order to introduce all the elements of the orchestra according. Kingdom Hearts featured 7 songs from both Kingdom Hearts titles, composed by Yoko Shimomura. It was arranged as a romantic piano concerto, and featured solo pianist Benyamin Nuss.[14] Secret of Mana featured 6 songs featured in the original game. The soundtrack was composed by Hiroki Kikuta. The arrangements made use of notable unique techniques in order to replicate the atmosphere found in the original game. The choir was used to create “sound effects” such as floor vibration by foot stomping and simulate distant rain with their voices.[14] Chrono Trigger/Cross featured 10 songs from both Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, composed by Yasunori Mitsuda. The arrangements were done by Jonne Valtonen and Roger Wanamo. This was Wanamo’s first exposure to JRPG music,[15] and his first time arranging video game music.[15] The suite featured a "crossing" of melodies, in which they would be layered on top of one another, having the lead melody being underlined by another, having different well-known themes performed simultaneously in harmony.[14] For this suite, Rony Barrak joined the orchestra and performed on his signature Darbuka.[14]

The Final Fantasy suite contained 8 songs from the 7 first titles in the series. Unlike the previous suites, Final Fantasy featured a simpler structure, focusing more on each individual theme rather than their structuring together to tell a progressive story. The music was composed by Nobuo Uematsu.

A surprise encore was also performed, taking the final boss themes from each game arranged together and presenting them in a medley. Rony Barrak returned on stage for the encore.[14]

No video screens or other form of tools were used during the concert, with only minimal lighting effects at certain parts for atmosphere being employed. Following in the footsteps of Symphonic Shades, the event was broadcast on the WDR4 radio station live, as well as an online video stream, enabling a worldwide audience to watch a symphonic video game music concert live for the very first time.[3] During the intermission, an interview with Benyamin Nuss was played, along with samples from his album Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu.

Symphonic Fantasies had individuals traveling from Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, France, Finland and the United States in attendance.

Set List

  1. "Fanfare Overture"
  2. "Fantasy I: Kingdom Hearts"
    Dearly Beloved | Sora | Hand in Hand | Kairi | The Other Promise | Happy Holidays! | A Fight to the Death
  3. "Fantasy II: Secret of Mana"
    Fear of the Heavens | Into the Thick of it | Eternal Recurrence | The Oracle | Prophecy | Phantom and... A Rose...
  4. "Fantasy III: Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross"
    A Premonition | Scars of Time | Chrono Trigger | Battle with Magus | Peaceful Days | Gale | Brink of Death | Prisoners of Fate | Outskirts of Time | Frog's Theme
  5. "Fantasy IV: Final Fantasy"
    Prelude | Fighting | One-Winged Angel | Swing de Chocobo | Phantom Forest | Battle at the Big Bridge | Final Fantasy | Bombing Mission
  6. "Encore"
    Destati| Meridian Dance | Lavos's Theme | One-Winged Angel | Rony Barrak | Finale

Reception

The participants of Symphonic Fantasies after the performance of the concert

The event received widespread critical acclaim, with much praise given to the focused presentation, deeply developed arrangements and evolvement of the concept. Benjamin Schmädig of 4players.de said of the concert "Symphonic Fantasies represents memories of great emotional moments. The orchestra and choir put in all their strength, all their subtlety in these moments. Jonne Valtonen knows exactly how to arrange the known motifs in such an imaginative way that they tell the familiar stories from scratch.[16]" Audun Sorlie of Original Sound Version stated "exceeded all expectations" and further added that the event was "absolutely amazing".[14] Chris Greening of Square Enix Music Online concluded in his report that "Symphonic Fantasies ranks among the greatest musical and social experiences of my life. Each arrangement took listeners on an extended journey through the atmospheres, emotions, and melodies of their respective series.[17]" GameMusic.net's Kamil Rojek said in his report "Symphonic Fantasies is a significant turning point in the history of video game music concerts. It was a remarkable event that made great progress in breaking the boundaries between game music and traditional classical works.[18]"

The composers themselves expressed deep affection for the concert and the arrangement. Yoko Shimomura noted she was extremely pleased with Valtonen's arrangement of Kingdom Hearts, feeling it "very colorful and beautiful, just superb really".[19] Hiroki Kikuta stated "His (Valtonen) interpretation, compared to conventional orchestral arrangements, placed an overwhelmingly greater value on the game's world and concept. To put it a different way, his arrangement defied the framework of regular orchestra and was a very experimental attempt. But, "games," as we know them, are in essence "playing." Given the most important property of this notion is, "not being afraid of failure" and "free and unbound expression," I'd say that Jonne Valtonen's production approach was truly correct.[20]" Yasunori Mitsuda expressed that he was "really amazed by its fantastic quality",[21] and Nobuo Uematsu expressed his love for the concert as well, stating "Symphonic Fantasies was an exceptionally well-produced concert compared to most game concerts.[22]" The composers also voiced their desire to bring the concert to Japan.[13]

Symphonic Fantasies has since been described as a true "benchmark"[23] and one of the greatest game music concert ever produced[24][25]

CD

Main article: Symphonic Fantasies - Music from Square Enix (Album)

The concert held on 12 September 2009 was recorded and released on an award winning CD. The album was first released in Japan on 15 September 2010, published by Square Enix Japan's own label under the auspices of Sony Music Distribution. 3 days later, the album saw release across Europe, published by Decca. This was the first ever video game music concert release ever published by the company. Both album versions feature identical track listings and production, with the only differences being the artwork and provided booklet. The album was mastered and mixed at Abbey Road Studios.[26][27]

Due to the length of the suites, the encore could not be fitted on the allowed running time of a compact disc. The track was released as a single on iTunes on 14 December 2010.[28]

Symphonic Fantasies 2012

Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo

On 14 September 2011, Square Enix Japan announced that Symphonic Fantasies would be performed in Tokyo, Japan on 7 and 8 January 2012. The announcement was made on their website during Tokyo Game Show. Along with the announcement, it became known that Benyamin Nuss, Rony Barrak, Jonne Valtonen, Roger Wanamo and Thomas Böcker would be in attendance. Böcker returned to produce the event as well.[29]

The concerts were held at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Main Hall, and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus. The concerts were conducted by Eckehard Stier. In attendance were guest of honors Hiroki Kikuta, Yoko Shimomura, Yasunori Mitsuda, as well as guests such as Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Masashi Hamauzu and Mahito Yokota. Both concerts were sold out in the matter of weeks, and featured extensively in the February issue of Famitsu as well as their official website.[30] Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo was the first all European video game concert production ever to take place in Japan. More than 4,600 fans were in attendance and tickets sold out within hours of being released.[31]

Symphonic Fantasies Stockholm

On 26 March 2012, Level Magazine and Merregnon Studios announced that Symphonic Fantasies will be performed at the Stockholm Concert Hall on 9 June 2012. The concert will be performed by Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Katarina Choir, conducted by Andreas Hanson. The moderator will be Swedish entertainment commentator Orvar Säfström.[23]

Symphonic Fantasies Cologne

After the conclusion of Symphonic Odysseys, the WDR announced that Symphonic Fantasies would return in 2012. The concerts are scheduled for 6 and 7 July at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall. The concert will performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and WDR Radio Choir Cologne, conducted by Niklas Wíllen.

References

  1. ^ "Symphonic Fantasies sold out". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. 2 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  2. ^ Chris Greening (March 2010). "Interview with WDR Radio Orchestra Manager Winfried Fechner". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Special announcement by Arnie Roth". Symphonic Fantasies. Merregnon Studios. Retrieved 4 September 2009. [dead link]
  4. ^ media control (19 October 2010). "media control Verkaufscharts". klassik.com. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  5. ^ SQEX (15 September 2011). "Symphonic Fantasies: Music from Square Enix Tokyo". Square Enix Japan. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  6. ^ Stockholms Konserthus (26 March 2012). "Symphonic Fantasies Stockholm". Stockholms Konserthus. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  7. ^ KölnMusik GmbH (10 January 2012). "Symphonic Fantasies". Stockholms Konserthus. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  8. ^ "Symphonic Fantasies". Symphonic Shades. Merregnon Studios. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
  9. ^ "Fünf (weitere) Fragen an: Winfried Fechner". Symphonic Fantasies. Merregnon Studios. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Chris Greening (January 2009). "Interview with Symphonic Fantasies Producer (January 2009)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  11. ^ Chris Greening (July 2011). "Interview with Roger Wanamo (July 2011)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Jonne Valtonen: Symphonic Fantasies - Fanfare overture". Symphonic Fantasies. Merregnon Studios. March 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  13. ^ a b Chris Greening (December 2009). "Interview with Thomas Boecker of Symphonic Fantasies (December 2009)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Audun Sorlie (17 September 2009). "Feels Like A Dream: Symphonic Fantasies Report". Original Sound Version. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  15. ^ a b Chris Greening (July 2011). "Interview with Roger Wanamo (July 2011)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  16. ^ Benjamin Schmädig (10 March 2010). "Special: Symphonic Fantasies". 4players.de. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  17. ^ Chris Greening (October 2009). "Special: Symphonic Fantasies". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  18. ^ Kamil Rojek (12 September 2009). "Report: Symphonic Fantasies". GameMusic.net. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  19. ^ Don Kotowski (September 2009). "Interview with Yoko Shimomura (September 2009)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  20. ^ Chris Greening (November 2009). "Interview with Hiroki Kikuta (November 2009)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  21. ^ Chris Greening (October 2009). "Interview with Yasunori Mitsuda (October 2009)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  22. ^ Don Kotowski (December 2009). "Interview with Nobuo Uematsu (December 2009)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  23. ^ a b Audun Sorlie (March 2012). "Symphonic Fantasies Returns In Summer Of 2012!". Original Sound Version. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  24. ^ Patrick Gann (October 2010). "Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix". RPGFan. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  25. ^ Chris Greening (October 2010). "Symphonic Fantasies - Music from Square Enix :: Review by Chris". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  26. ^ Chris Greening (22 March 2010). "Interview with WDR Radio Orchestra Manager Winfried Fechner Part 2". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  27. ^ Chris Greening (10 July 2010). "Official: Symphonic Fantasies CD Available for Pre-Order". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  28. ^ "Symphonic Fantasies: Encore (Final Boss Suite) - Single". Symphonic Fantasies. Merregnon Studios. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  29. ^ "Symphonic Fantasies - Music from Square Enix". Symphonic Fantasies. Square Enix. September 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  30. ^ Famitsu (January 2012). "『キングダム』、『聖剣2』、『クロノ』、『FF』……数々の名曲の調べがここに！　"Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo"開催". Famitsu. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  31. ^ "Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo schon jetzt ein Erfolg". VGMConcerts. November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.

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