The NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo (NHKSO) is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with a range of performances ranging from Bach and Beethoven to Pokemon music. | © NHKSO
By Junko Nonoyama
Contributing writer
Jul 25, 2026
Founded in 1926, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo (NHKSO) is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and thinking ahead about how to nurture future audiences for classical music.
“I consider the orchestra a public treasure,” says Shoichi Nishikawa, the orchestra’s director of artistic planning. “For the orchestra to be socially recognized and to further develop, we have to present a variety of genres.”
The commitment to artistic depth and heritage is unwavering. The 2026-27 season opens on Sept. 12 with Fabio Luisi conducting Franz Schmidt’s monumental oratorio, “The Book with Seven Seals.” Completed in 1937, this grand work will be augmented with solo vocalists, a choir and an organ on top of the orchestra, leading to an exuberant finale.
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