I've given the Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy medleys a listen so far, and they're both pretty damned wonderful.  Valtonen's written some terrific new arrangements, and both the orchestra and chorus make a classy showcasing.  I gotta disagree, Wanderer; while the chorus is used pretty extensively, I thought they clicked as an integrally natural part of the overall performance.

The Final Fantasy medley is a winner just by the presence of "Those Who Fight", but as Adam states, they've made some terrific change-ups to the existing FF arrangements.  The One-Winged Angel intro was a clever, cheeky tease, as the presence of a full-blown choir (and the fact that it shows up in like EVERY concert) probably made everyone expect it to show up here too.  Same goes for the "Final Fantasy" theme, but I'm glad they've given it the full treatment for the majestic finale.  And yes, they've really knocked "The Bombing Mission" out of the park here.  Best arrangement yet.

Of the two, I think I enjoy the Secret of Mana medley a bit more.  I loved how effectively they used Fear of The Heavens as its main foundation, and it segues perfectly with the various pieces.  "The Oracle" was particularly rousing, and "The Prophecy" was quite good too.  I was secretly hoping they'd be able to sneak Meridian Dance in there, but a great, structured suite overall.

Haven't heard the Final Boss suite yet, huh?

I was back and forth on the chorus. Most of the time, I liked the effect... but there were a few times when I wanted them to shut up so I could hear the orchestral textures.

I was attending the concert and I must say it was an incredible experience. The arrangements were fantastic -- especially the Secret of Mana suite. I can't believe the arranger managed to express the feeling of the game with so much accuracy. You could feel the music emerging from the natural elements (wind, rain, storm), burst with brutal force, then go back to nature... Everyone I've been talking to told me the same: that suite was breathtaking. The three others were great as well, indeed, but this one was the main focus. Uematsu himself said he loved this arrangement.

My heart stopped cold when it showed up.  Oh, hell yes. 

But as good as "Meridian Dance" is, "Destati" is the definite highlight of the Final Boss suite -- surprising, as the Kingdom Hearts medley is the weakest of the five.  When stripped of its battle themes and Disney-related compositions, KH's blemishes do tend to stand out more.  All the same, it is an inviting addition as a comparatively breezier listen to the rest of the suites; the piano flourishes in "Dearly Beloved" are particularly nice.

Wow, that whole Secret of Mana suite is freaking amazing.
even the Oracle turned into something interesting...

Man I'd so love to hear the entire album done up like this.
Flight ~ Color of Summer ~ A Wish ~ Leave Time for Love ~ Meridian Dance ~ I Closed My Eyes...   *dies* 

Anyways, it's certainly the best SoM medley ever, and I'm glad Kikuta was there to enjoy it live.

Kingdom Hearts is usually enjoyable but it seems to have lost the "Disney Charm" element this time around.

This Chrono Suite is the most dynamic version yet.  While Frog's Theme gets the attention it rightly deserves, I'd like to see some "the Girl who Stole the Stars" tragic beauty in there.

FF 7 Fighting is great, and I love how they "fake" the OWA start, but then go to chocobo instead, that's awesome!  People finally realize that's been played to death!

The haunting part of Mystic Forest was teasingly short, but that's gonna happen in a big medley.  FF6 Battle done up nicely though.  Chocobo gets 2x appearance?  Guess it was transition fodder to break up the tension spots.  Bombing Mission's rendition felt very natural this time, opposed to other shows.

Very impressive overall, I think it's the most artistic multi-game orchestral experience to date.

WDR is working to release the concert on CD.

no release date yet, but they'll try to get this out as soon as possible.

I hope they'll shoot for a DVD too. This turned out really good - I'm impressed! The idea to highlight a particular soloist or section in each suite was a good one too, particularly the percussion in the Chrono medley.

Again, that's probably due to the fact that the suite features none of the Disney-related compositions.  Kingdom Hearts is really at its best with those, and its riveting battle themes.

If it were up to me, the medley would've been ALL battle themes.  Something like this would've been amazing:

-Working Together
-Pirate's Gigue
-Shrouding Dark Cloud
-Scherzo di notte
-Desire For All That Is Lost

A Fight To The Death would still make a good cap-off.

Quite.  Rony Barrak was tearin' up that goblet drum. ^_^

For those interested, I recorded a video of the autograph sessions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_T0_wWZCaU

Sorry, I rushed the editing.

Well, every medley had its recurring theme(s), and Chocobo was Final Fantasy's. Unfortunately, maybe. The Bombing Mission rendition of the Chocobo theme was especially cool, though.

And this was the best game music concert I've experienced so far. At least the saturday's concert was, as the first one in Oberhausen was a bit lame because of the not-so-classy surroundings (a sports arena with pretzel sellers and such) and bad acoustics. Cologne bettered the experience in every possible way. Valtonen really deserved to be called onto the stage at Cologne; the arrangements were really swell.

Oh yeah! I would like to hear all of them too. Secret of Mana Suite was really fantastic, but it’s a pity that “Danger” (a.k.a. "Crisis") and “Second Truth from the Left” weren’t performed. Both tracks are rarely mentioned in fan favorites, but both impressed me a lot when I played the game. Perhaps “Danger” would be very difficult to orchestrate, though.

Three reports here:

http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features … sies.shtml
http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features … ies6.shtml
http://www.originalsoundversion.com/?p=4845

Each pretty insightful about the arrangements themselves while giving inside info. Uematsu and co. are amazing in person!

Awesome write-up, guys.  Sounds like you all had a spectacular time!

I'm certainly grateful for the live stream.  It really was the next best thing to actually being there.

they're aming to release the CD on Dec/Jan.

at last, the CD will be released sometimes in september.

According to SEMO the album is going to be released in September 2010 by Decca (Universal Music).

I've given the Symphonic Fantasies album a listen.  Good release, but it's a crying shame they couldn't include the Final Boss Suite encore track.  If CD space were a problem, I would have gladly sacrificed Valtonen's Fanfare Overture track, as lovely as it is.

Glancing over this thread again, I realize I've made no mention of the Chrono Trigger/Cross medley.  "The Scars Left By Time / Chrono Trigger" intro is a nice tone setter for the rest of the suite.  Rony Barrak's percussion really gives this one its own flavor, which comes blasting out of the gate straight away, and never missing a rhythmic beat throughout. 

I admit I don't quite take to the middle portion of the piece, at least not until it picks up at "To Faraway Times", its hint of a bittersweet nature an intriguing contrast to the purely sweet tone of the original.  The "Magus / Kaeru" continuity feels apt, but I thought the performances featured on the Chrono Trigger Orchestra Extra Soundtrack, as terse as they were, felt a tad more dynamic.

The finale is terrific, though.  Those accentuated bursts from the "Chrono Trigger" melody really stand out against the "Scars Left By Time" melodic foundation.

Those of you in Europe who missed Symphonic Fantasies the first time around (or would like to experience it again) are getting a second chance:

June 9, Stockholm  [ticket info]
July 5 & 6, Cologne  [ticket info]