OITA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Argerich Arts Foundation released today a promotional video entitled “Oita Peace Symphony” to introduce the MUSIC FESTIVAL “Argerich’s Meeting Point in Beppu” that will take place from May 6 to 26. World-renowned pianist Martha Argerich, hailed as this century’s best and the queen of the keyboards, has been serving as general director. She adds, “Now is the time to spread the message of the Peace Symphony around the world.”
Since St. Francis Xavier’s arrival to spread Catholicism, Oita has been steeped in classical music. Ms. Argerich’s first visit to the area was in 1970 and she has attended the Music Festival for the past 22 years. Today, the “Shiiki presents Argerich’s Haus,” completed in 2015, stands as a sign of the region’s affection for Martha Argerich and the one-of-a-kind structure serves as a focal point for the MUSIC FESTIVAL Argerich’s Meeting Point in Beppu.
The video features local Oita inn proprietors, shrine priestesses, fishermen, and people garbed as members of the Otomo Sōrin rifle brigade, as well as some of the foreign residents from more than 70 countries who are currently studying in the prefecture. Oita hopes that through this video, the prefecture can spread harmony around the world in this time of uncertainty.
The video is here: https://youtu.be/feSRuQ3Jdb0
Beppu, located in Oita Prefecture, is known as the home of the most hot springs sources in the world. Beppu has been a destination for travelers seeking various healing effects from the different kinds of water its springs produce since the Edo period (17th century). It is said that even members of the imperial family have visited this traditional hot springs town to relieve their ailments.
Beppu’s distinct landscape, designated an Important Culture Landscape by the national government, provides a contrast to the paradisiacal image of hot springs that evoke Dante Alighieri‘s epic poem, Divine Comedy. The “Beppu hell route,” as anointed by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, allows the visitor to experience both the power and mystique of hot springs.
Additional photographs are here: http://bit.ly/2lktYPc
About the Argerich Arts Foundation
The Argerich Arts Foundation was established in March 2007 to make the arts part of the basic infrastructure of education with an eye on the world as we hope it will be 100 years from now. Rooted in the ideals of general director Martha Argerich, the Foundation was established to contribute to education and society through the promotion of the arts in Oita Prefecture by leveraging world class music festivals such as the Argerich’s Meeting Point in Beppu.
