Final Symphony II's nostalgia-packed concert track list revealed - featuring FF5, 8, 9 and 13
The team behind the wildly successful Final Symphony concert series has finally revealed what fans can expect from the upcoming Final Symphony II, with the new edition of the concert series sporting some of the most beloved and classic tracks from Final Fantasy XIII, IX, VIII and V.
The new concerts will begin with 'In a Roundabout Way - Fanfare', an original piece by key Final Symphony contributor Jonne Valtonen. After that, the concert will move on to showcase four complex new FF arrangements, each between fifteen and twenty minutes in length and focused on the music of one major Final Fantasy title.
First up is 'Utopia in the Sky' from Final Fantasy XIII, originally composed by Masashi Hamauzu. This arrangement touches on key melodies from the game including Vanille's Theme, Nautilus, Blinded by Light and FF13's unique Prelude track, among others.
Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy IX score is next, represented by 'For the People of Gaia', with just a few of the pieces present including Vivi's Theme, Festival of the Hunt, Mourning the Sky, and (Assault of the) Silver Dragon - with further surprises from that title's memorable score throughout!
After an intermission the show hops another year back in time with 'Mono no aware' (appropriately named after a Japanese expression for understanding nothing lasts forever), a Final Fantasy VIII arrangement including the likes of Don't be Afraid, The Landing, Waltz for the Moon and a personal favourite of ours, The Oath.
The show will be rounded out by a representative from the 2D era in Final Fantasy V's arrangement titled 'Library of Ancients'. This piece will feature classics such as Reina's Theme, Spreading Grand Wings, The Evil Lord X-Death and, of course, the Main Theme of FF5.
Final Symphony II comes off the back of the hugely successful first tour of the concert series featuring music from Final Fantasy VI, VII and X. After playing several sold-out concerts around the world and a charting digital release of a concert recording, the series is now set to return with this new set list - and the pieces featured have us very excited.
These epic all-new arrangements will first debut in Bonn, Germany on August 29th with a special appearance by Masashi Hamauzu, and then make their way to London on September 12th, where legendary FF composer Nobuo Uematsu will also hold a pre-concert talk. The tour will be rounded out with two Japanese dates - Osaka on September 27th and Yokohama on October 4th. A handful of tickets are still available.
If you can't make it in person, a Blu-ray release of the original Final Symphony concert is also on the way in September - but people present at the German and English concerts will be able to pick it up ahead of time. We'll also have full coverage of the show and an interview about it all as it happens.
If you've never heard Final Symphony before we heartily recommend its first concert release - it can now be found on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon, and the crew behind it can be found on twitter at @vgmconcerts. See Mr. Uematsu and the crew behind the concerts talk about the first series below:
That Track List again in full:
Jonne Valtonen
In a Roundabout Way - FanfareMasashi Hamauzu
FINAL FANTASY XIII - Utopia in the Sky
(Prelude to FINAL FANTASY XIII | Vanille's Theme | Nautilus | Blinded by Light etc.)Nobuo Uematsu
FINAL FANTASY IX - For the People of Gaia
(Vivi’s Theme | Festival of the Hunt | Mourning the Sky | Silver Dragon etc.)Intermission
Nobuo Uematsu
FINAL FANTASY VIII - Mono no aware
(Don't be Afraid | The Landing | Waltz for the Moon | The Oath etc.)Nobuo Uematsu
FINAL FANTASY V - Library of Ancients
(Main Theme of FINAL FANTASY V | Reina’s Theme | Spreading Grand Wings | The Evil Lord X-Death etc.