Final Fantasy orchestral performance planned

   Live orchestral performances of video game music have become increasingly common in Japan over the last number of years, with some series such as Dragon Quest publishing several symphonic albums sometimes performed by orchestras as prestigious as the London Philharmonic. Final Fantasy, however, despite the relative fame of series composer Nobuo Uematsu and the immense popularity it enjoys on both sides of the Pacific, has only seen one orchestral performance: a 1989 concert consisting of music from Final Fantasy I & II by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and published as Final Fantasy Symphonic Suite. Although some pieces from Final Fantasy games have since been arranged and performed as part of the Orchestral Game Concert series, there has never been a dedicated Final Fantasy concert since '89.

   That will no longer be true come February 20th of next year, when Square is planning a concert titled simply "Music from Final Fantasy" at 7:00 PM at the Tokyo International Forum. For those of our readers fortunate enough to be in the area at that time, tickets will be available for presale from November 12th to 20th and go on general sale on December 8th at the price of 6000 yen for all seats. There's still hope for the rest of us, however, as Square is likely to release an album of the performance. Although no official announcement has been made, the previous concert was released as an album, and given the number of soundtracks Square has announced recently, it's unlikely that they'd pass up an opportunity like this.

    Even a US release is not out of the question; in the past Tokyopop has published several Square albums in the US and has plans to publish many others, including Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, The Bouncer, and Parasite Eve 2 OSVs, as well as the upcoming N and S Generation albums. Given their close relationship with Square, it's likely that the prospective orchestral album would see domestic release in North America as well.

   Thanks to Mark Jordan for the tip.

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[source] » Mark Jordan

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