Conclusion, Part 1
Concert Performances and Orchestral Tours Performing Videogame Music
Over the past two decades, we find internationally renowned orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Memorial Orchestra, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Shinsei Nihon Symphony Orchestra, Chicagoland Pops Orchestra and Hollywood Symphony Orchestra performing and in some cases touring with concerts of music composed specifically for videogame soundtracks.
From 1991 to 1996, Sugiyama introduced a series of videogame music concerts, called the Orchestral Game Concerts, which were performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Memorial Orchestra and Kanagawa Philharmonic. The performances included over 18 different videogame composers including Sugiyama. During this time, he composed for other videogames and arranged for some of them to be performed in the Orchestral Game Concerts.
Yuzo Koshiro’s (b. 1967) first symphonic suite extracted from a complete videogame orchestral score, the ActRaiser Symphonic Suite, premiered in September of 1991 and was awarded Best Music for Video Games in 1993. Subsequent releases occurred of other works adapted from the original score that were performed and recorded in 2007.
Jesper Kyd (b. 1972), Danish composer of Hitman: Agent 47 (2000) recorded by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, was trained as a classical guitarist and pianist. His score for Hitman: Agent 47 was one of the first to be recorded outside of Japan.
Sugiyama recorded the musical score and soundtrack for Dragon Quest by the London Symphony Orchestra in August 2005. His music was performed live at the European Symphonic Game Music Concert. There, for the first time, his music was presented in a live symphonic concert outside Japan. He eventually recorded the Symphonic Suite from Dragon Quest.
The first North American Final Fantasy orchestral concert occurred in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in May of 2004. Performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, this was a landmark event in the history of videogame music. This concert marked the first major North American symphonic concert of solely videogame scores.
Nobuo Uematsu’s (b. 1959) music was again featured at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles performed by the World Festival Symphony Orchestra and the Cal-State Fullerton University Singers in May of 2005. That same year the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra and Festival Choir presented sold out performances of the music of Final Fantasy.
Ko Otani’s (b. 1957) orchestral score for Shadow of the Colossus, won Soundtrack of the Year in 2005. The orchestral writing creates and sustains the atmosphere of solitude of the story line of the videogame.
That same year Inon Zur released his score for the videogame Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones followed by Prince of Persia in 2008. His style of composition has been compared to film composer Hans Zimmer in his treatment of orchestral texture and color.
Yuzo Koshiro’s (b. 1967) score for ActRaiser Goes to the Symphony was excerpted to produce ActRaiser Symphonic Suite in July of 2007 as the movements “Overture” and “Bloodpool” were performed by the Shinsei Nihon Symphony. Later, in August of that same year, additional movements of the suite, “Pyramid” and “Northwall” were performed.
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