London Symphony Orchestra and Takeda celebrate 20 year partnership with launch of 8^th Takeda Global Concert Series

London and Osaka, February 2, 2009 - The London Symphony Orchestra [LSO] and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited are delighted to announce the 8th Takeda Global Concert Series, which will present LSO concerts worldwide from now until 2011. This latest series marks a 20-year partnership between the two organisations.

The series launches on the evening of February 4, with a performance of Beethoven symphonies at the Barbican Centre, London, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. It includes, a major United States Coast-to-Coast tour, as well as12 European concert dates and an eight-concert tour of Japan in November 2010. The partnership also provides community-based activities around these concerts. Musicians on Call is a unique project where LSO players take music away from the concert hall to those who are housebound or in hospital, reinforcing the important relationship between music and health. With these activities, the LSO and Takeda aim to enhance the quality of life for people around the world through excellence and innovation.

The United States Coast-to-Coast tour^{[ * ]}, from 15 to 30 March 2009, will see the LSO and Principal Conductor Valery Gergiev perform nine concerts in San Francisco, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Chicago, Boston, Newark and Washington DC. The LSO and Valery Gergiev will perform Prokofiev’s Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6 & 7, Piano Concertos Nos. 2, 4 & 5 and Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 with soloists Vladimir Feltsman and Alexei Volodin. The tour is part of the LSO’s Worldwide Prokofiev series. The complete schedule for the European and Japanese concert dates has still to be finalized.

[ * ]A full schedule of the USA Coast-to-Coast tour is listed on the LSO’s website.

"We have been contributing to cultural exchanges on a global basis by sponsoring the LSO over a prolonged period, and this year marks our 20th anniversary”, commented Kunio Takeda, Chairman of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. “The passion with which the LSO searches for new trends in music whilst maintaining a long tradition is similar to the way Takeda addresses the continuous challenge of developing superior pharmaceutical products. We are very pleased to be supporting the LSO again for this concert series, helping to make their wonderful music available to classical music fans across the globe."

"Our long and highly successful relationship with Takeda has supported our concerts worldwide, for which we are enormously grateful”, added Kathryn McDowell, Managing Director of the London Symphony Orchestra. “We are particularly delighted to be working on the Musicians on Call project, which is part of our wide ranging education and community program with LSO Discovery, linking music and health. The LSO looks forward with great anticipation to the 8th Takeda Global Concert Series."

Takeda is the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan with a history spanning more than 227 years. It has been the major supporter of the LSO‘s international touring programme since 1989 with the Takeda Global Concert Series. This long-term commitment has been crucial in enabling the LSO to maintain a significant presence on the international stage, taking world-class performances to America, Japan and Europe. The partnership represents a synergy between the two organisations, both considered to be world-class in their respective fields, continually striving for excellence and innovation.

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