Global InformationFinal Symphony information
| Orchestral concert tour by Merregnon Studios | |
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| Conductor | Eckehard Stier |
|---|---|
| Composer | Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, Jonne Valtonen |
| Arrangers | Masashi Hamauzu, Jonne Valtonen, Roger Wanamo |
| Location | Germany, England, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, United States, New Zealand, China, Austria, Australia, Poland |
| Album recording | Final Symphony |
| Start date | May 11, 2013 |
| Producer | Thomas Böcker (Merregnon Studios) |
| Merregnon Studios concert chronology | |
Final Symphony is a symphonic concert tour first held at the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal in Wuppertal (Germany) on May 11, 2013. The concert tour features arrangements of video game music selected from the Final Fantasy series, specifically Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X. It is divided into three acts: a symphonic poem for VI, a piano concerto for X, and a symphony for VII. The concert is produced and directed by Thomas Böcker, with arrangements provided by Finnish composer and musician Jonne Valtonen, along with Roger Wanamo and Final Fantasy X composer Masashi Hamauzu with consultation from Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. The original works were composed by Uematsu and Hamauzu, and an introductory piece was composed by Valtonen. The premiere concert was performed by the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra under conduction from Eckehard Stier, with guest performer Benyamin Nuss joining the orchestra on piano.
Following the initial performance, Final Symphony was performed in several other venues. It was first performed in London (United Kingdom) at the Barbican Centre by the London Symphony Orchestra on May 30, 2013. Between 2014 and 2024, additional concerts took place in Tokyo (Japan), Aarhus (Denmark), Stockholm (Sweden), Tampere (Finland), Amsterdam (Netherlands), San Diego (United States), Baltimore (United States), San Francisco (United States), Auckland (New Zealand), Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China), Hamburg (Germany), Berlin (Germany), Munich (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Melbourne (Australia), Birmingham (United Kingdom), Newcastle (United Kingdom), Stuttgart (Germany), Wrocław (Poland) and Malmö (Sweden), with each performance location handled by a different orchestra. In 2024 and 2025, additional performances are planned in Edinburgh and Glasgow (Scotland), as well as in Ottawa and Vancouver (Canada).
A video of the Stockholm performance of the Final Fantasy VI Symphonic Poem was released on October 11, 2014, and a full album recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios was released on February 23, 2015 by Merregnon Studios. The album, along with the concerts themselves, were heavily praised, both for the quality of the performance and for the quality of the arrangements, which overlaid themes from multiple pieces rather than relying on a more traditional medley. The concert series was followed by Final Symphony II, a similar concert tour by Merregnon Studios which began in 2015 with music from Final Fantasy V, VIII, IX, and XIII.