Sinfonia Varsovia in Japan – Chopin Meets the Great Masters of the Piano

On 4 October 2025, Sinfonia Varsovia will begin its concert tour of Japan, performing in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kyoto. Conducted by Christian Arming, the orchestra will present a programme combining masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire with works by Fryderyk Chopin. The tour forms part of the Po!land ポ！ランド programme, organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute to accompany Poland’s participation in EXPO 2025 in Osaka.

Sinfonia Varsovia in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kyoto – 2025 Tour Programme Featuring Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvořák

The Sinfonia Varsovia tour will be conducted by Christian Arming, music director of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, a conductor long associated with the Japanese music scene. The tour will focus on Chopin’s piano concertos and the less frequently performed Polish Fantasy by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, presented alongside four pianists representing different generations and interpretative traditions: Martha Argerich, Ivo Pogorelich, Aimi Kobayashi, and Kyohei Sorita. These works were composed shortly before Chopin left Poland. Both concertos – in E minor and F minor – resonate with lyricism and melodiousness inspired by Italian bel canto, while also reflecting Polish character through the rhythms of the mazur and krakowiak. 

The programmes also include works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Dvořák, classics of the European symphonic repertoire. Mozart’s Symphony in G minor, KV 550, is considered the most tragic in his oeuvre. The overture to Beethoven’s opera Fidelio reflects the ideals of freedom and humanity, while Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major is an early work, strongly classical in style yet heralding new energy and momentum. The programme concludes with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, one of the Czech master’s most cheerful works, full of melodies inspired by folklore and nature.

Pianists Martha Argerich, Ivo Pogorelić, Aimi Kobayashi, and Kyohei Sorita on Sinfonia Varsovia’s 2025 Tour of Japan

Martha Argerich, one of the greatest legends of the world piano, will appear at the tour finale at Kyoto Concert Hall. Her performance in Kyoto will be complemented by Anna Dutoit-Argerich’s lecture, Martha Argerich and Japan, reflecting on the pianist’s more than fifty-year relationship with the Land of the Rising Sun. In Tokyo and Osaka, Ivo Pogorelić, whose interpretations are both admired and controversial, will perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F minor. His expressive style will be contrasted by the interpretation of Aimi Kobayashi, a representative of the young generation of Japanese pianists, who will perform the Concerto in E minor. 

Another highlight will be the concert on 5 October at NHK Hall in Tokyo, part of the NHK Music Festival 2025, one of the most important concert series in Japan. During the evening, Kyohei Sorita will perform Paderewski’s Polish Fantasy, while Aimi Kobayashi will perform Chopin’s Concerto in E minor. The tour also carries a symbolic significance: it takes place in the year of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and is part of the Po!land ポ！ランドprogramme, organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute to accompany Poland’s participation in EXPO 2025 in Osaka.

Polish classical music at EXPO 2025 in Osaka – Sinfonia Varsovia’s tour of Japan

Po!land ポ！ランド – the slogan of the cultural programme organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute – is inspired by the Japanese onomatopoeia “Po!”, which expresses a moment of revelation and joyful surprise. This joyful “Po!” also alludes to polonium – a chemical element discovered by Maria Skłodowska-Curie and symbolising innovativeness, science, and transgressing borders. Juxtaposed with “ランド” (rando), borrowed from the English “land”, Po!land becomes a space for exchanging ideas, meeting of cultures, and mutual inspirations. 

The autumn edition of the cultural programme accompanying Poland’s participation in EXPO 2025 in Osaka also featured concerts of Polish jazz and alternative music as part of the Polish–Japanese Sound Culture Festival, alongside an interactive exhibition on the Polish language entitled “The Amazing Land of Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi”. 

Tokyo, 4 October 2025, 4:00 pm

• Venue: Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo, Japan

• Performers: 

  • Aimi Kobayashi – piano

  • Sinfonia Varsovia

  • Christian Arming – conductor

• Programme: 

  • Ludwig van Beethoven – Overture to the opera Fidelio, Op. 72

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11

Tokyo, 5 October 2025, 4:00 pm

• Venue: NHK Hall, Tokyo, Japan

• Performers: 

  • Kyohei Sorita – piano

  • Aimi Kobayashi – piano

  • Sinfonia Varsovia

  • Christian Arming – conductor

• Programme: 

  • Ludwig van Beethoven – Overture to the opera Fidelio, Op. 72

  • Ignacy Jan Paderewski – Polish Fantasy in G-Sharp Minor, Op. 19 (piano: Kyohei Sorita)

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (piano: Aimi Kobayashi)

Tokyo, 6 October 2025, 7:00 pm

• Venue: Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo, Japan

• Performers: 

  • Ivo Pogorelić – piano

  • Sinfonia Varsovia

  • Christian Arming – conductor

• Programme: 

  • Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 2 in Fa minor, Op. 21

Nagoya, 7 October 2025, 6:45 pm

• Venue: Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, Nagoya, Japan

• Performers: 

  • Ivo Pogorelić – piano

  • Aimi Kobayashi – piano

  • Sinfonia Varsovia

  • Christian Arming – conductor

• Programme: 

  • Ludwig van Beethoven – Overture to the opera Fidelio, Op. 72

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 2 in Fa minor, Op. 21 (piano: Ivo Pogorelić)

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (piano: Aimi Kobayashi)

Tokyo, 9 October 2025, 7:00 pm

• Venue: Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo, Japan

• Performers: 

  • Ivo Pogorelić – piano

  • Sinfonia Varsovia

  • Christian Arming – conductor

• Programme: 

  • Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 2 in Fa minor, Op. 21

Osaka, 10 October 2025, 7:00 pm

• Venue: Izumi Hall, Osaka, Japan

• Performers: 

  • Aimi Kobayashi – piano

  • Sinfonia Varsovia

  • Christian Arming – conductor

• Programme: 

  • Ludwig van Beethoven – Overture to the opera Fidelio, Op. 72

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11

Nagoya, 12 October 2025, 3:00 pm

• Venue: Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, Nagoya, Japan

• Performers: 

  • Martha Argerich – piano

  • Aimi Kobayashi – piano

  • Annie Dutoit-Argerich – recitation

  • Sinfonia Varsovia

  • Christian Arming – conductor

• Programme: 

  • Ludwig van Beethoven – Overture to the opera Fidelio, Op. 72

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (piano: Aimi Kobayashi)

  • Annie Dutoit-Argerich – Lecture Martha Argerich and Japan

  • Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 2 in Fa minor, Op. 21 (piano: Ivo Pogorelić)

The project is a part of the series of events entitled Po!land ポ！ランド, organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the cultural programme accompanying Poland’s participation in the EXPO 2025 World Exposition, which has been made possible by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency.