Symphonic Game Music Concerts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from Chamber Music Game Concert)
Jump to: navigation, search
The WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and the FILMharmonic Choir performing Symphonic Shades.

The Symphonic Game Music Concerts (German: Symphonische Spielemusikkonzerte) are a series of annual German video game music concerts, notable for being the first of their kind outside of Japan.[1][2] They are produced by Thomas Böcker and performed by various orchestras conducted by Andy Brick and, from 2008 onwards, Arnold Roth.[3][4]

From 2003 to 2007, GC in Concert took place at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig and was held as the official opening ceremony of the GC - Games Convention, a trade fair for video games in Leipzig. In 2008, the cancellation of the concert by the Leipziger Messe GmbH resulted in a cooperation with the WDR, eventually spawning Symphonic Shades and Symphonic Fantasies.

Contents

[edit] Development

Since 1999, Thomas Böcker has been working in the games industry as producer, director and advisor for a variety of soundtracks.[5] His role as executive producer and project director of the Merregnon trilogy[6] provided him with many contacts to conductors, orchestras and composers from around the world.[5]

Inspired by game concerts from Japan, the Orchestral Game Music Concerts from the 1990s in particular, he developed a concept for the first event of this kind outside of Japan.[7] To attract as many people from the target audience as possible, the concert was to be scheduled alongside an established event connected to the game industry.[5] In 2002, he proposed his idea to the Leipziger Messe GmbH which agreed to hold the Symphonic Game Music Concert during the GC - Games Convention, the first trade fair for video games in Europe.[7][8]

The Leipziger Messe GmbH funded GC in Concert while Böcker himself was responsible for planning the event, inviting composers, obtaining the approval of the individual publishers to play music from their titles and assembling the concert programs.[7] Böcker didn't want to limit the selection of compositions performed to European games, but instead opted for the greatest Asian, American and European titles of recent years, providing a wide range of musical styles[5] and thereby offering another innovation in the field of video game music concerts.[9]

His main focus with the First Symphonic Game Music Concert was to honor publishers that had worked with live orchestras before.[5] The majority of compositions had already been recorded with this kind of ensemble in the past which reduced the development stage to four months, beginning in mid-April 2003.[5] Following feedback from attendants of the first event, more music from classic games was added to the programs.[10] Favoring a more classical atmosphere, the series does not rely on showing game footage or extensive light effects, but rather on the quality of the music and its performance.[11]

Subsequent concerts took Böcker almost one year each to plan.[7] The pioneer work done by him and his team resulted in a lot of publisher support for game concerts outside of Japan and paved the way for many similar events.[5] The Symphonic Game Music Concerts have since become widely known for its many world premieres, some of which have been reused in Press Start -Symphony of Games-[12] and PLAY! A Video Game Symphony, a series Böcker was also involved with from 2005 to 2007.[7] The original inspiration drawn from the Orchestral Game Music Concerts is still reflected in the performance and rearrangement of some of its compositions[13] and the use of orchestra figures designed by Chisa Suzuki,[14] akin to those depicted on the Orchestral Game Music Concert CD covers.[15]

[edit] GC in Concert

The GC in Concert logo used in 2007.

[edit] First Symphonic Game Music Concert

Date: August 20, 2003
Venue: Gewandhaus zu Leipzig
Conductor: Andy Brick
Orchestra: Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Guest artist: James Walker (actor, Royal Shakespeare Company)

This was the first orchestral video game music concert outside of Japan.[2] It attracted a sold-out crowd of 2000 people.[1] Unlike subsequent GC - Games Convention concerts, the music of the first event was performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

[edit] Second Symphonic Game Music Concert

Date: August 18, 2004
Venue: Gewandhaus zu Leipzig
Conductor: Andy Brick
Orchestra: FILMharmonic Orchestra
Guest artists: Seiji Honda (piano), Erika Jarkovská (soprano), Miloslav Pelikán (tenor) and Roman Vocel (baritone)

The second concert marked the switch to the FILMharmonic Orchestra from Prague and was sold out a month in advance.[1]

[edit] Third Symphonic Game Music Concert

Date: August 17, 2005
Venue: Gewandhaus zu Leipzig
Conductor: Andy Brick
Orchestra: FILMharmonic Orchestra
Guest artists: Conny Kollet (singer), Rony Barrak (percussion) and -123min. (rock band)

Booking of tickets lasted only three days till the third concert was sold out.[1]

[edit] Fourth Symphonic Game Music Concert

Date: August 23, 2006
Venue: Gewandhaus zu Leipzig
Conductor: Andy Brick
Orchestra: FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Guest artists: Daniela Kosinova (piano, pipe organ) and Michiru Yamane (cembalo)

The fourth concert was sold out again.[1] For the first time, it featured a live choir and the pipe organ of the Gewandhaus.

[edit] Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert

Date: August 22, 2007
Venue: Gewandhaus zu Leipzig
Conductor: Andy Brick
Orchestra: FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Guest artists: Izumi Masuda (soprano), Conny Kollet (singer), Daniela Kosinova (organist), Josef Krusek (boy soprano), Marek Zvolanek (trumpeter), Jaromir Klepac (pianist), Takenobu Mitsuyoshi (pianist and singer), Michiru Yamane (organist) and Rony Barrak (percussionist)

The fifth concert featured two surprise performances by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi (track 10) and Michiru Yamane (track 20). Additionally, Rony Barrak performed an unannounced improvisational percussion solo before he accompanied the orchestra on the last track. This sold-out fifth event was also the final Symphonic Game Music Concert to take place at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig.[1]

[edit] Chamber Music Game Concerts and Heroes of Imagination

The Chamber Music Game Concerts (German: Kammermusik-Spielekonzerte) performed by a string ensemble and the school concerts Heroes of Imagination (German: Helden unserer Phantasie) and Super Mario Galaxy - A Musical Adventure (German: Super Mario Galaxy - Ein musikalisches Abenteuer) are three subseries of events also produced by Thomas Böcker.[16]

The free of charge First Chamber Music Game Concert was held as part of the gaming tournament GC-Cup at the Augustusplatz in Leipzig,[17] while the latter two took place alongside a GC - Games Convention press conference event and the historical exhibition Nintendo - Vom Kartenspiel zum Game Boy of the Landesmuseum Koblenz.[18] The four school concerts Heroes of Imagination in 2006 were intended to show differences and similarities between classical music and game music and to make orchestra concerts more accessible to a younger audience.[18] They were supported by Nintendo, Square Enix and Sega.[19] In January 2010, five additional school concerts will be performed by the same orchestra. The series is entitled Super Mario Galaxy - A Musical Adventure and will be the spiritual successor to the well-received Heroes of Imagination events.[20][21] Modeled after and acting as a modern-day Peter and the Wolf, the musical segments of the concerts will be interspersed with narrations of the storyline of Super Mario Galaxy,[20] with the performances being officially licensed and sponsored by Nintendo.[20]

[edit] First Chamber Music Game Concert

Date: July 13, 2005
Venue: Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, Augustusplatz
Music direction: Andy Brick, Dr. Michael Köhler
Orchestra: Kammerphilharmonie Leipzig

[edit] Second Chamber Music Game Concert

Date: June 1, 2006
Venue: Festungskirche Ehrenbreitstein in Koblenz
Music direction: Dr. Michael Köhler
Orchestra: Kammerphilharmonie Leipzig
Presenter: Nintendo Germany

[edit] Third Chamber Music Game Concert

Date: July 20, 2006
Venue: Leipzig Central Station
Music direction: Dr. Michael Köhler
Orchestra: Kammerphilharmonie Leipzig

[edit] Heroes of Imagination

Date and venue (Meißen): January 25, 2006, Theater Meißen
Date and venue (Riesa): January 26, 2006, Stadthalle "stern" Riesa
Date and venue (Großenhain): January 27, 2006, Schloss Großenhain
Music direction: Andy Brick
Conductor: Uwe Zimmermann
Orchestra: Neue Elbland Philharmonie

[edit] Super Mario Galaxy - A Musical Adventure

Date and venue (Meißen): January 20, 2010, Theater Meißen
Date and venue (Großenhain): January 21, 2010, Schloss Großenhain
Date and venue (Riesa): January 22, 2010, Stadthalle "stern" Riesa
Conductor: Christian Voß
Orchestra: Neue Elbland Philharmonie

[edit] After 2007

[edit] Cancellation of GC in Concert

On January 3, 2008, a note at the official website of the Symphonic Game Music Concerts announced that no future GC - Games Convention opening concerts will take place at the Gewandhaus.[22] Instead, the opening concert in 2008 was replaced by a Video Games Live show in the Arena Leipzig.[23]

Tommy Tallarico stated that he had a mail correspondence with Böcker about having both concerts at the beginning and the end of the GC - Games Convention 2007, though both felt that it would have been too confusing for the attendants.[24] The official reason of the Leipziger Messe GmbH for cancelling the traditional concerts is that, with the Symphonic Game Music Concerts they wanted to prove to politics and the economy that video games are objects of cultural value. The disconnection of the official opening ceremony with any concerts from 2007 onwards made that requirement feel unnecessary for the Leipziger Messe GmbH.[25] According to an earlier comment by Thomas Böcker, the Leipziger Messe GmbH did not inform him about the new collaboration with Video Games Live in advance.[26]

[edit] Symphonic Shades - Hülsbeck in Concert

The Symphonic Shades logo.

Date: August 23, 2008
Venue: Funkhaus Wallrafplatz, Cologne
Conductor: Arnold Roth
Orchestra: WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and FILMharmonic Choir
Guest artists: Jari Salmela (pianist) and Rony Barrak (percussionist)

On December 4, 2007, Thomas Böcker announced that he is producing Symphonic Shades, a concert exclusively dedicated to the music of German game composer Chris Hülsbeck.[27] Tickets for it were sold out after six days, prompting the producers to announce a second concert taking place at 11:00 p.m. on the same day of the Symphonic Shades world premiere.[28][29] Tickets for the additional performance sold out on April 12, 2008.[30] Symphonic Shades marked the first live radio broadcast of a video game music concert.[31]

A critically acclaimed[32][33][34][35] album with the complete Symphonic Shades program was released on December 17, 2008.[36] It contains live material from the concert that is complemented by recordings before and after the public performances.[37] The first print of the CD is a collector's edition limited to 1000 copies and was sold out at the main retailer less than a month after the initial release.[37][38] In order to ensure continuous availability of the recording, digital releases on iTunes[39] and Amazon[40] followed the CD, of which a second print was announced in April for a release on May 20, 2009.[41][42] Unlike the limited collector's edition, the second print is lower in price and is shipped in standard CD trays, but still contains the booklet included with the first 1000 copies of the album, though with a normal printing rather than a matte/gloss coating effect on the cover.[42]

On March 19, 2009, it was announced that Arnie Roth will conduct the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the concert Sinfonia Drammatica in the Stockholm Concert Hall. Taking place on August 4, 2009, the concert will combine eight performances of Chris Hülsbeck's Symphonic Shades with selections from drammatica by Yoko Shimomura.[43]

[edit] Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix

Date and venue (Oberhausen): September 11, 2009, König-Pilsener-Arena
Date and venue (Cologne): September 12, 2009, Kölner Philharmonie
Conductor: Arnold Roth
Orchestra: WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and WDR Radio Choir Cologne
Guest artists: Benyamin Nuss (pianist) and Rony Barrak (percussionist)

In February 2008, Thomas Böcker mentioned some considerations to revive the traditional Symphonic Game Music Concerts.[44][45] The plans were later confirmed by Winfried Fechner, manager of the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne, who announced Symphonic Fantasies, a video game music concert that will take place in the Kölner Philharmonie on September 12, 2009.[46] Tickets for the event sold out at the beginning of April 2009, necessitating a second concert at the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen, on September 11, 2009.[47]

The performance is dedicated to Japanese developer Square Enix and will include arrangements of compositions from Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and Kingdom Hearts.[48][49] Symphonic Fantasies will be opened with an original composition by Jonne Valtonen, the "Fanfare overture", to set the mood for listeners prior to the performance of completely new Square Enix arrangements.[50] An early recording of the fanfare performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra under the direction of Niklas Willén was made available on YouTube and the official Symphonic Fantasies site.[51][52]

[edit] Guests of honour

Many famous game music composers have attended the events and the autograph sessions afterwards.[16]

Year Guests of honour
2003 Nobuo Uematsu, Richard Jacques, Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold, Christopher Lennertz, Fabian Del Priore, Allister Brimble, Olof Gustafsson, Markus Holler and Tilman Sillescu
2004 Nobuo Uematsu, Chris Hülsbeck, Yuzo Koshiro, Markus Holler, Fabian Del Priore, Allister Brimble, Richard Jacques and Akira Yamaoka
2005 Chris Hülsbeck, Rob Hubbard, Jason Hayes, Gustaf Grefberg, Tilman Sillescu, Stephen Harwood and Junichi Nakatsuru
2006 Nobuo Uematsu, Tilman Sillescu, Leon Willet, Michiru Yamane and Kai Rosenkranz
2007 Chris Hülsbeck, Yuzo Koshiro, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Michiru Yamane, Allister Brimble, Olof Gustafsson, Tilman Sillescu, Mark Griskey, Matthias Steinwachs, Henning Nugel and Emilio de Paz
2008 Chris Hülsbeck, Yuzo Koshiro, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi and Jonne Valtonen
2009 Yoko Shimomura, Yasunori Mitsuda, tba

The concerts from 2003 to 2006 included various speeches and presentations by German politicians and spokespersons of the industry, such as game designer Will Wright.[53]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Symphonic Game Music Concerts, The Concerts
  2. ^ a b Game Informer Online, Video-game Concerts Bring New Life To Hallowed Halls
  3. ^ Symphonic Game Music Concerts, The Team
  4. ^ Symphonic Game Music Concerts, The Orchestras
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Gamasutra, The Making Of The First Symphonic Game Music Concert In Europe
  6. ^ Merregnon, Administration
  7. ^ a b c d e Music & PC GAMES MEET CLASSICS - Vom PC auf die Bühne
  8. ^ Leipziger Messe, Geschäftsbericht - Geschäftsjahr 2002
  9. ^ Square Enix Music Online, Interview with Thomas Boecker (April 2007): "I am very happy that we can feature music from all over the world [...]"
  10. ^ YiYas freie Seiten, GC Konzert 2004
  11. ^ Spiele nutzen., Symphonic Shades: Interview mit Thomas Böcker
  12. ^ GC blog, Faszinosum Spielemusik: Thomas Böcker über die GC-Konzerte
  13. ^ d-frag.de, Symphonia Ludi
  14. ^ GC in Concert 2007: Offizielles Konzertprogramm, page 31
  15. ^ VGMdb, Game Music Concert -The Best Selection-
  16. ^ a b Symphonic Game Music Concerts, The Concert Programs
  17. ^ Symphonic Game Music Concerts, New concert announced today
  18. ^ a b Square Enix Music Online, Thomas Boecker Interview Part 3: Other Concert Innovations
  19. ^ Symphonic Game Music Concerts, School concerts featuring video game music announced
  20. ^ a b c Square Enix Music Online, Super Mario Galaxy School Concerts Announced
  21. ^ Neue Elbland Philharmonie, Schulkonzert "Super Mario Galaxy - Ein musikalisches Abenteuer"
  22. ^ Symphonic Game Music Concerts, The GC Opening Concert has passed
  23. ^ Video Games Live, Video Games Live Teams Up with Leipzig Games Convention!
  24. ^ Tommy Tallarico: "Quite frankly, there was even some talk this year at one point about having one show at the beginning/launch of Games Convention 2007 and the other one at the end. Thomas and I spoke about this over e-mail but I think we both felt that it may be a little too confusing to have two shows at the same exact convention... maybe in the future this would work when both shows are a little more established? That may be cool." December 31, 2007
  25. ^ Square Enix Music Online, Interview with Symphonic Shades Producer
  26. ^ Thomas Böcker: "However, that would require that the 'previous people' were informed about the new plans (a long time in advance)." December 12, 2007
  27. ^ Symphonic Game Music Concerts, Chris Huelsbeck in Concert
  28. ^ Symphonic Shades, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi arrangiert für Symphonic Shades
  29. ^ Symphonic Shades, Termin für Zusatzkonzert bekanntgegeben
  30. ^ Symphonic Shades, Symphonic Shades-Konzerte restlos ausverkauft
  31. ^ Symphonic Shades, Symphonic Shades live im Radio
  32. ^ Music 4 Games, Symphonic Shades (Review)
  33. ^ Original Sound Version, Robocop in a Tux Presents Symphonic Shades (Review)
  34. ^ Destructoid, Destructoid music review: Symphonic Shades
  35. ^ VGM Rush, Symphonic Shades - Hülsbeck in Concert (Review)
  36. ^ Symphonic Shades, Es ist vollbracht...
  37. ^ a b MAZ Sound Tools, Symphonic Shades Description
  38. ^ Symphonic Shades, Symphonic Shades-CD ausverkauft
  39. ^ Symphonic Shades, Symphonic Shades auf iTunes
  40. ^ Symphonic Shades, Symphonic Shades bei Amazon-MP3 erhältlich
  41. ^ Symphonic Shades, Symphonic Shades geht in die nächste Runde
  42. ^ a b Symphonic Shades Symphonic Shades-CD ab 20. Mai erhältlich
  43. ^ Square Enix Music Online, Arnie Roth Announces Sinfonia Drammatica
  44. ^ Stereology, Interview mit Thomas Böcker
  45. ^ Symphonic Shades, Stereology-Interview mit Thomas Böcker
  46. ^ Symphonic Shades, Fünf (weitere) Fragen an: Winfried Fechner
  47. ^ Symphonic Game Music Concerts, Symphonic Fantasies sold out
  48. ^ Symphonic Fantasies, Music from classic games arranged by Jonne Valtonen
  49. ^ Square Enix Music Online, Interview with Symphonic Fantasies Producer
  50. ^ Square Enix Music Online, Symphonic Fantasies Original Fanfare Unveiled
  51. ^ YouTube, Jonne Valtonen: Symphonic Fantasies - Fanfare overture
  52. ^ Symphonic Fantasies, Fanfare overture
  53. ^ Leipziger Messe GmbH, GC opening concert completely sold out

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Video game music concert series
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphonic_Game_Music_Concerts"
Personal tools