[Virtual pianist Junne Nocto’s debut performance report] Junon Nocto, Festa Summer Muza KAWASAKI
A spectacular collaboration with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in 2024, creating a new musical experience
*KADOKAWA Co., Ltd.*
Press release: August 20, 2024
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[Virtual pianist Junne Nocto’s debut performance report] Junon Nocto, Festa Summer Muza KAWASAKI
A spectacular collaboration with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in 2024, creating a new musical experience
On August 12, 2024 (Monday, Shinkyu), virtual pianist Junne Nokuto (pronounced: Urune no Kuto), produced by the world’s first “virtual artist” development project “Portameta”, will perform at Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall (Kanagawa They made a spectacular debut by performing at the finale concert of the midsummer orchestra festival “Festa Summer Muza KAWASAKI 2024” held in Kawasaki City, Japan. In this report, we present the footage of a groundbreaking concert that challenged the fusion of the real and virtual in the world of classical music.
* -Event Report-*
Festa Summer Muza KAWASAKI held on August 12th (Monday, Shinkyu) 2024 finale concert. The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Kawasaki City’s franchise orchestra, and regular conductor Keitaro Harada presented a gorgeous program based on the concept of “Fantasia for a new era.” A pre-talk held before the performance featured Harada and Tamaki Kawakubo, soloist in Ifukube Akira’s Concert Rhapsody. The two, who grew up in America, talked about what they feel about the works of Japanese composers and how they approach new repertoire. Afterwards, Harada, who remained alone on stage, spoke as follows about his programming intentions.
“My motto is always to do something different from the ordinary at the finale performance of Festa Summer Muza.Today, the virtual pianist who has been preparing for KADOKAWA, Dwango, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and Muza Kawasaki for the past two years will finally perform. It will be performed for the first time at the concert, and the piece I wanted to perform there was Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Also, Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” and Ducasse’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” both of which appear in Disney’s classic animated film “Fantasia,” which I loved as a child. And as I work overseas as a Japanese person, I am starting to feel like I want to actively work on Japanese works, such as Takashi Yoshimatsu’s “Atom Hearts Club Suite” No. 2, in which the theme of Astro Boy appears. , will perform Akira Ifukube’s violin concerto, which evolved into the melody of Godzilla. We have collected music related to video works, but what we were most particular about was creating an easy-to-listen program that would allow us to imagine the story. I hope you enjoy it to the fullest.”
As predicted, from the opening song, “A Night on Bald Mountain,” a series of undulating music unfolds where you can fully enjoy the charm of the grand scale of a live orchestra. In the following “Atom Hearts Club Suite” No. 2, Mr. Harada asked, “Can you all snap your fingers?” and the audience joined in by snapping their fingers in time with the conductor. The lively performance of the standing string instrument players was also impressive, and the entire venue was captivated by the cool and passionate music. Akira Ifukube’s concerto-style rhapsody begins with Tamanori Kawakubo’s violin playing a melody reminiscent of the good old days of Japan, and the music is a mixture of euphoria, excitement, and nostalgia, until the exciting part in the style of “Godzilla” at the end. has developed.
After a break, the first performance of the second half was Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Harada’s well-defined music makes you feel like the world of Fantasia is coming right before your eyes.
And the main event of the day was Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” featuring virtual artist Junne Nocto as soloist. Prior to the performance, Harada spoke about his thoughts on this unveiling. “This project, which started as a way to see if we could do something that marries technology and classical music, will finally be unveiled at a concert venue. The most important thing for me is to give someone a chance.When I audition for Junne Nocto, I don’t look at any background, and I look at people with high performance ability and individuality, regardless of their age or gender. I was looking for someone who has the ability to convey something.I hope that today’s concert will be a place where we can convey hope for the future.” Beginning with an impressive clarinet glissando, the orchestral players play a familiar melody, foreshadowing the fun that will follow. The rich and deep piano tones of Junon Nocto were added to this, making the music even more gorgeous. The natural and smooth movements of the virtual pianist Junne Noctis are projected on the screen, and the free-flowing sound flows. Junne Noctis sways her body to the rhythm of “Rhapsody in Blue” and freely plays melodies and decorations that arise on the spot.
The orchestra conducted by Mr. Harada was in perfect synchronization, and an exciting dialogue unfolded. This innovative collaboration perfectly recreated the dynamic world of Gershwin, full of vitality, using the piano of Nocto Junne, who has an open sensibility, and the baton of Harada, who was well versed in the playfulness of American music. The audience was drawn into this seamless performance and thoroughly enjoyed a musical experience that was both natural and technologically advanced.
Furthermore, this concert was streamed around the world through the live streaming service “Nico Nico Live Broadcasting,” and online viewers commented, “It’s so amazing,” “I can’t stop crying,” “Can we use this technology to perform with people all over the world?” and “ There were many enthusiastic comments such as “The arrival of a new era.” This performance, which transcended the boundaries between real and virtual, evoked great emotion both offline and online, and suggested new possibilities for the future of music. “I love you. “City of Love” A song familiar to Kawasaki residents began with Junne Nocto’s piano, and the orchestra joined in. The finale concert came to a close amid excitement as Harada encouraged the audience to clap their hands.
* ■ Impressions of “Festa Summer Muza KAWASAKI 2024” Finale Concert * [From Junne Nocto]
It was the best stage! It became a Rhapsody in Blue that will remain in my memories for the rest of my life. I still can’t forget the feeling of creating music while playing catch with Keitaro Harada and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra! I am also very grateful for the technical support that made this possible. I feel like I’ve taken a step into a new world of music. thank you very much! !
[From Harada Keitaro]
All the requests we made when the project was launched two years ago are now possible. Festa Summer Muza is a festival where Japanese orchestras compete, so I think we were able to get a good start and a good ending. It was a good concert that showed the colors of Junne Noctis, and I’m glad that all the professional musicians involved in the project were moved and had wonderful words to say during the audition. It was really fun.
* ┃“Festa Summer Muza KAWASAKI 2024” Finale Concert Overview* ・Date and time: August 12, 2024 (Monday, Shinkyu) 15:00 start ・Venue: Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall
・Performers: – Conductor – Keitaro Harada (Tokyo Symphony Orchestra regular conductor)
-Violin- Tamaki Kawakubo
-Piano-June Nocto (Virtual Artist)
・Performance: Mussorgsky (arranged by Rimsky-Korsakov): Symphonic poem “Night on Bald Mountain”
Takashi Yoshimatsu: Atom Hearts Club Suite No. 2 op. 79a
Akira Ifukube: Rhapsody Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Dukas: Symphonic poem “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”
-Discover the Future-Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
[Encore] Naozumi Yamamoto: I love Kawasaki, the city of love
・Official website:
https://www.kawasaki-sym-hall.jp/festa/calendar/detail.php?id=3853
* ┃“Festa Summer Muza KAWASAKI 2024 Finale Concert” Distribution Overview* ・Program title: Festa Summer Muza KAWASAKI 2024 Tokyo Symphony Orchestra Finale Concert
・Viewing URL: https://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv345479661
・Archive period: Until 23:59 on Thursday, September 12, 2024 *No member registration required, anyone can watch for free
* ┃Overview of “Real-time fingering reflection system”*
The “Real-time Fingering Reflection System” reproduces in real time a perfect performance that is flawless in terms of both playing technique and expressiveness when a virtual pianist performs live with a professional orchestra. In order to accommodate delicate and high-speed piano performances, we tackled the technical challenge of “reproducing accurate and smooth finger and keyboard movements and minimizing the time lag between sound and 3D images.” As a result, we built a method based on a combination of motion capture technology and MIDI data recognition, and after numerous tests and detailed adjustments, we succeeded in developing a new system. This greatly improves the realism and precision of performances, making it possible to offer audiences a new type of musical experience.
* ┃Overview of “Portameta”*
In October 2023, we launched “Portameta”, a project to develop virtual artists that introduces technology that “precisely reproduces musical instrument players virtually”, a first in the classical music world. KADOKAWA and Dwango aim to expand the base of classical music fans by producing virtual artists with a new concept that fuses the real and virtual, classical music and technology. Currently, we are focusing on music activities through videos and SNS, but in the future, we plan to expand our activities around the world, with a view to performing at real concerts. Virtual artist Nokuto Junon was selected as a pianist in an audition held in February 2024, and participated in the “Niconico Chokaigi 2024” held the other day in a 2D form.
◇“Portameta” official website: https://portameta.com/
◇“Urune Nokutoch” Official YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UruneNokutoch ◇“Rune Nokuto” Official X: https://x.com/urune_nokuto
* *Credit related to photo data in this release*
Concert scene: (C)T.Tairadate/MUZA
Junne Nocto KV: (C)portameta Project