More than 20 years ago, pianist Kyoko Edo, composer Maki Ishii and musicologist Takashi Funayama put their heads together in a bar in Tokyo. While sipping their drinks, the three agreed that Tokyo needed a music festival along the lines of those held in Paris and Berlin each year. That was the beginning of Tokyo Summer Festival, an annual music event which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary.
"The three of us knew we were capable of producing the event and coming up with a program, but we lacked resources and an administrative base," Funayama recalled.
Fortunately for them, in its early stages, Edo's father, Hideo Edo, chairman of Mitsui Fudosan Co., extended a helping hand. The Asahi Shimbun has also been supporting the festival from the outset, serving as the promoter of the festival along with The Arion-Edo Foundation.