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Photo by Shinjiro Yamada
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“We have experienced a completely new Nobuo Uematsu: stylistically, the compositions are reminiscent of his early works for ‘Final Fantasy’, but at the same time they sound fresh and original. Uematsu lets his music speak for itself, bringing back memories of classical works such as Sergei Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’. The compositions stand on their own, it is entirely up to them to convey drama and characters. And they do this brilliantly – so much so that despite the late hour, younger visitors are just as captivated as the older guests.”

M! Games

“Nothing, not even the most rabid of fanboys, would dare criticize Nobuo Uematsu’s stunning soundtracks… Nearly all of his work with Final Fantasy is near perfection, helping build the drama and adding tension to turn-based battles.”

Sputnik Music

Opus 3 Artists is pleased to represent the first all-­orchestral ­concert dedicated to the music of Nobuo Uematsu, the ­legendary video game composer revered worldwide for his work on the Final Fantasy series from 1986 to 2004 alongside ­director ­Hironobu Sakaguchi. Since forming his own production c­ompany, Smile Please, Uematsu has continued working closely with ­Sakaguchi on independent titles like Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and FANTASIAN. With a reputation for blending genres and lending emotion to role-playing ­narratives with memorable melodies and iconic ­character themes, ­Uematsu’s ­legacy has impacted the entire landscape of video game music since the ­beginning. This ­tribute concert features a flight of lushly arranged suites, ­followed by Uematsu’s first-ever original orchestral work for the concert hall, Merregnon: Heart of Ice, a narrated tale that takes fans on a heartfelt adventure through wintry worlds and musical lands.

PROGRAM
Opening Fanfare
Lost Odyssey (A Formidable Enemy Appears)
FANTASIAN (Main Theme)
Blue Dragon (Waterside)
Final Fantasy VIII (Mono no Aware)
Intermission
Merregnon: Heart of Ice

All programs subject to change.

NOBUO UEMATSU
A prolific and versatile composer of video game and anime music, Nobuo Uematsu is best known for his groundbreaking scores for the Final Fantasy series. Born and raised in Kochi, Japan, Uematsu is a self-taught pianist who graduated from Kanagawa University and initially performed keyboards in local bands. By submitting music demos, he found early work composing radio commercials before transitioning into video games in the mid-1980s, when a friend helped him secure a position at Square (now Square Enix).

At Square, Uematsu composed music for dozens of titles, beginning with the original Final Fantasy, released in 1987. He went on to write or co-write music for the globally successful franchise through Final Fantasy XI (2002). During this period, he also released Phantasmagoria (1994), an album of original electronic keyboard music, and contributed to other landmark game scores, including Chrono Trigger (1995), co-written with Yasunori Mitsuda.

After stepping away from Final Fantasy following the eleventh installment, Uematsu composed the score for Ah! My Goddess: The Movie (2003) and founded his own companies, Smile Please (2004) and Dog Ear Records Co., Ltd. (2006). His subsequent work includes music for more than a dozen video games—among them Blue Dragon (2006)—as well as television music for the Blue Dragon anime series. He composed the score for the anime Guin Saga (2009) and returned to the Final Fantasy franchise as the main composer for Final Fantasy XIV (2010). Throughout the 2010s, Uematsu remained highly active, contributing to titles such as Fantasy Life (2012), Hometown Story and Granblue Fantasy (2013, both with Tsutomu Narita), and Terra Battle (2014).