The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra is moving to a new home -- in Kawasaki. On Jan. 20, the government of Kawasaki City, which is adjacent to Tokyo across the Tama River, unveiled a new symphony hall designed by Matsuda-Hirata Design Office. The hall will not only serve as the orchestra's base, but also stage performances ranging from classical music to jazz and pop.
The auditorium will be known as the Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall, "muza" being coined from two words: "music" and "za," a Japanese term meaning a place where people gather. Muza, which is connected to the west exit of JR Kawasaki Station, boasts 1,997 seats arranged in "vineyard" style around the stage.
That stage will be filled July 1, when the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra will perform Mahler's Symphony No. 8 -- known as the "Symphony of a Thousand" -- under the baton of Kazuyoshi Akiyama. Although there won't be quite 1,000 singers, the chorus will number an impressive 800.