For five days in May, the Marunouchi district of Tokyo was filled with smiling faces as the fourth edition of La Folle Journée au Japon took place from the 2nd to the 6th of May and 181,724 tickets were sold for some 221 concerts at the Tokyo International Forum.

The 2008 festival - with its theme ‘Schubert in Vienna’ - featured a wide range of works from well-known masterpieces to rarely performed music by Schubert and other composers active in Vienna. The International Forum was once again transformed into a music island attracting audience members from all generations.

La Folle Journée au Japon has quickly established itself as a highlight of the Tokyo Golden Week holiday, with 59% of festival-goers returning for the second, third or fourth time having attended it in a previous year.

The theme of 2009 is ‘Bach and Europe’.

(22 June, 2008)