Suntory Hall – Upcoming Programmes for Oct – Nov 2025

Mitsuko Uchida performs Beethoven’s Last Three Sonatas 

Suntory Hall presents Mitsuko Uchida Piano Recital on 28 – 30 Oct 2025. 

Widely regarded as one of the finest pianists of our time, Mitsuko Uchida has won acclaim for her keen intelligence and deep musical insight and continues to captivate music lovers around the world. She has made Suntory Hall her home venue in Japan ever since appearing in the hall’s opening season in 1986, and as Suntory Hall’s only Associate Artist, it will be her first recital here since 2021. 

In this recital, Uchida will perform the last three piano sonatas, Op. 109, 110 and 111, by Ludwig van Beethoven. Composed around the same time as his Ninth Symphony, they are among his most sublime and transcendent works and have been recorded and performed by many world-renowned pianists. Her performance of these works at Carnegie Hall in 2023 received critical acclaim, including the New York Times which praised “her wisdom and clarity that comes with decades of interpretive rigor and commitment.” 

It will be an unmissable opportunity for the audience to witness Mitsuko Uchida’s supreme pianism and her profound interpretations of these timeless masterpieces. 

Text by Nahoko Gotoh 

Full listings can be found at the following: 
https://www.suntory.com/culture-sports/suntoryhall/article/detail/001743.html 

Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan 2025 

Suntory Hall hosts Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan 2025 from 11 – 16 Nov. 

Founded in 1842, the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic) has been closely associated with the rich musical history and tradition of Vienna, the capital city of music, and it continues to enthrall audiences all over the world with its unique and incomparable sound. The orchestra first visited Japan in 1956, and this year marks the orchestra’s 40th tour to our country. 

Suntory Hall has been hosting Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan since 1999, giving the Japanese audiences a regular opportunity to enjoy this renowned orchestra, and this is the 22nd edition. At the helm will be the charismatic German Maestro Christian Thielemann, who enjoys a particularly close and productive artistic partnership with the Wiener Philharmoniker. Thielemann and the orchestra last performed together in Suntory Hall in 2019. 

On this tour, Thielemann and the orchestra will present three orchestral programmes. The first programme consists of Anton Bruckner’s monumental Symphony No. 5 (11 & 15 Nov), a work that Thielemann is especially fond of. Moreover, he and the Wiener Philharmoniker have recorded the Bruckner symphony cycle, so the performance will surely be special. In the second programme, Robert Schumann’s sunny Rhenish symphony will be paired with Brahms’s sublime Fourth Symphony (12 Nov). Their performance of the latter work in Vienna earlier this year received glowing praise from the local press. The third programme, exclusive to Suntory Hall, celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer Johann Strauss Jr. with a selection of his waltzes and polkas (16 Nov). Thielemann conducted this repertoire in the Wiener Philharmoniker’s New Year’s Concert in 2019 and 2024. 

In addition to the four concerts at Suntory Hall, the orchestra will tour Nagoya, Osaka, Himeji (Hyogo), and Yokohama. 

As in previous years, there are education and outreach events including a free open rehearsal, an instrumental masterclass (this year by double bassist Christoph Wimmer-Schenkel), and a school programme. Also, 90 youth tickets (from junior high school students to 25-year-olds) will be available for the concert on 15 Nov. 

The Wiener Philharmoniker has built close ties with Japan, and after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the orchestra offered a donation of one million euros to help people recover from the disaster. The Suntory Group matched the amount and set up The Vienna Philharmonic and Suntory Music Aid Fund, which continues to provide support through music in the Tohoku region as well as in Kumamoto. In 2024, musicians visited the Noto Peninsula affected by a recent earthquake, and support programmes are being planned during this year’s visit as well. 

Text by Nahoko Gotoh 

Full listings of the Wiener Philharmoniker Week in Japan 2025 can be found at the following:
https://www.suntory.com/culture-sports/suntoryhall/article/detail/001702.html 

For further information and press photos, please contact: 
suntoryhall-pr@suntory.co.jp 
Public Relations, Suntory Hall 

Website: http://suntory.jp/HALL-e/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suntoryhall/ 
X: https://x.com/SuntoryHallE