by Hannah Schoepe
The Cleveland Orchestra will embark on their nineteenth international tour with music director Franz Welser-Möst in March-April 2019, as part of the their 101st season. The tour will feature eleven performances across seven Asian cities: Taipei, Macau, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Beijing. 
The repertoire will include Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor,” with soloist Daniil Trifonov, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 3.
“Whenever we go to a part of the world we haven’t been for a long time, or in this case to some cities where The Cleveland Orchestra has never been before, I believe it is important to present a repertoire range that showcases the Orchestra’s abilities, and lets the artistry of this ensemble shine,” music director Franz Welser-Möst said in a recent press release. “We include works such as Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben which are well-known, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 3 which fewer people may know. We are also so very happy to bring with us a star pianist, Daniil Trifonov, with whom we have performed and championed since early on in his career. We’ve been collaborating with him for over six years and are proud that he really is, at least in part, a product of Cleveland.”
The Cleveland Orchestra’s first tour took place in 1919, when the ensemble’s musicians traveled by train to perform in nearby cities including Pittsburgh and Youngstown. They crossed an international border for the first time in 1922 to perform in Canada, and also made their first appearance at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall in 1922. Major overseas touring began in 1957, with the ensemble’s first trip to Europe.
“Music is truly the most universal language,” the Orchestra’s executive director André Gremillet said in a press release. “While we come from different cultures and live in different environments, experiencing great music together reminds us that the things we have in common are greater than what separates us. We believe one of our most important roles is indeed bringing people together, and we are truly honored to be invited to perform for music lovers in China and Taiwan.”
For more information and a full concert schedule, click here.
Photo by Roger Mastroianni.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com November 20, 2018.
Click here for a printable copy of this article