Schumann and Brahms in Japan

This July, David Afkham returns to the NHK Symphony Orchestra, serving as an esteemed guest conductor for a series of concerts across Japan. The program pairs Afkham and the symphony with pianist Martin Helmchen for Schumann’s Piano Concerto A Minor, Op. 54, the composer’s only piano concerto and one of the most beloved works of the Romantic period. 

Afkham then leads the orchestra in Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 C Minor Op. 68, a work he has conducted at concert halls throughout the world. Of his performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Broad Street Review praised his leadership, saying it was “a Brahms First unlike any other.”

The program opens on July 18 with a performance in Tokyo at NHK Hall, followed by Symphony Hall in Osaka on July 19, and Ehime Prefectural Convention Hall in Matsuyama on July 20, before closing on July 21 in Hiroshima at Ueno Gakuen Hall（Hiroshima Prefectural Culture & Art Hall).