By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer

TOKYO - Japan may have economic woes, but cultural life is rich in Tokyo. People flock to see concerts in 10 major halls in the metropolitan area, and will pay up to $1,000 a ticket for opera performances, as they did for the Kirov Opera's War and Peace this month.

On Thursday, about 2,000 people paid up to $180 a ticket to see the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, touring with music director Paavo J”rvi.

Sounds from abroad

"The economic conditions may be bad, but there are many orchestra concerts," says Masaaki Niwa, music critic for The Yomiuri, Japan's national newspaper. "But of all the concerts in Japan, 20 to 25 percent of performances are by orchestras and opera companies from abroad."

Niwa, who writes for Japan's largest paper with a circulation of 10 million, was chatting over lunch in Tokyo about the music scene in Japan, a country with 23 major symphony orchestras. Ten of them are in Tokyo.

He pulls out a book, listing all the performances in Japan from January to March last season. Performances of period instrument orchestras are gaining in popularity, he notes. And, unlike the United States, where opera has gained momentum while symphonies are struggling, orchestral music is more popular in Japan than opera.

In all, there were 10,128 performances last year of orchestras, chamber music groups, piano recitals, opera and choral concerts. And those are just the professional ones. Japan has numerous amateur orchestras and choruses.

Companies such as Toyota and Mitsubishi also have orchestras, to provide relaxation and inspire creativity in their work force.

An orchestra in an auto plant is not unusual, he says.

"Many companies think it is important to keep their employees happy. They also notice that it helps productivity," he says. "They notice how artistic activity helps their employees."

Besides government support, which is generous, Japan's corporate citizens are major supporters of the arts. One only has to consider the elegant Suntory Hall, built for the 60th anniversary of Suntory, best known for its whisky and beer. Niwa's newspaper sponsors the Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra, one of the best orchestras in Japan.

In his 40-year career as a critic, Niwa cannot even estimate how many visiting orchestras he has seen.

Best of best

"So many," he says, laughing, and taking out a calendar of events. "This month alone, there are the New York Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Saarbrucken Broadcasting Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Orchestra, the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta and the Czech Philharmonic," he ticks off.

So how does the Cincinnati Symphony stack up? Niwa wrote a preview article in a large magazine, detailing the history of the CSO, so he is familiar with the orchestra's background. But he is especially impressed with J”rvi, who, he says, has a fine reputation in Japan.

Last week, after hearing the orchestra play a concert in Suntory Hall, he beamed broadly and offered, "Congratulations" - no small compliment from such a seasoned critic.

"There are the most famous American orchestras - New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago," he says. "There is also Cincinnati."

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E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com