It’s over 30 years since the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo last visited Birmingham, so this concert is certain to be a major event. With Principal Conductor Sebastian Weigle, their concert of blockbusters begins with deliciously seductive music from the 1948 ballet by pre-eminent Japanese composer Akira Ifukube (best known for his film scores for the Godzilla series).

“I’ve wanted to do a UK tour with Yomikyo ever since I became principal conductor,” says Weigle. “The orchestra’s level has grown significantly over the years, and working with these musicians is one of my greatest joys. I’m delighted that we’re performing these wonderful programmes together in such fantastic British venues.”

This will be the first international tour with the orchestra for Sebastian Weigle, who grew up in East Germany before the Berlin Wall came down. He spent his childhood longing for the day he could travel the world playing with top orchestras – something that was out of reach for East Germany citizens at the time like him.

He says: “Experiencing an orchestra live is an unforgettable feeling – digital music is a brilliant resource but seeing and hearing the energy emitted by a playing orchestra live is like

nothing else. Every performance is a challenge, a creative process, and a journey into the unknown – you never know how it starts and how it will finish."

The YNSO says: “Classical music reaches people’s hearts directly; it has no language or country barrier. When so many things in the world are uncertain, we feel the importance of music more than ever as it allows us to experience all kinds of emotions and brings people together. It’s been 27 years since we last performed in the UK so we cannot wait to be back and for UK audiences to hear our music.”

Declared a ‘concert of blockbusters’, the tour programme features 'Dance of the Seven Veils' from the ballet 'Salome' by Akira Ifukube – the Japanese composer best known for creating the 'Godzilla' film score – and the solos in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto will soar in violinist Christian Tetzlaff’s capable hands, steeped in the German classical tradition as he is. The YNSO will also perform Tchaikovsky’s ‘fateful’ 'Symphony No. 4', full of dramatic contrast and emotion, and Rachmaninov’s mighty 'Second Symphony', with its indulgent melodies and sensational climax.

Don't miss the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra of Tokyoon Wed 23 October at Symphony Hall!