Cincinnati Symphony's European tour to include stops in U.K., France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain
This summer, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will be criss-crossing Europe from Scotland to northern Spain. As part of its first European tour since 2008, the orchestra will perform 11 concerts in eight cities in six countries. Highlights will include the world premiere of a new version of George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” and three performances in a new concert hall on the Seine in Paris.
The three-week tour will include stops in Edinburgh, Scotland; London; San Sebastian and Santander in Spain; Eindhoven and Utrecht in The Netherlands; and Antwerp, Belgium. The tour will conclude with three concerts in Paris, where CSO music director Louis Langrée, a French native, will lead the orchestra in the inaugural season of the ultra-modern La Seine Musicale, which opened in April.
It is the second international tour for the orchestra this year, coming on the heels of a tour to Asia. For that tour, the orchestra performed as both the symphony and the Pops. The 122-year-old orchestra has been touring for more than a century, including its extensive, history-making world tour of 1966, which was sponsored by the United States Department of State.
Led by Langrée, concerts will feature an American work on each program, including music by John Adams, Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland. Most notable will be the world premiere of a new critical edition of “An American in Paris" on Sept. 9, as part of an American-themed weekend in the new Paris concert hall.
"What could be better than 'An American in Paris' played by an American orchestra in Paris conducted by an ex-Parisian living in America? It’s the perfect piece!" said Langrée in an interview on the artist management Askonas Holt website.
French violinist Renaud Capuçon will join the CSO as soloist in Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in Spain and the Netherlands. French actor Lambert Wilson will be featured as the narrator of Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” in Paris, and he will speak Lincoln’s words in French. Narrators for other tour performances of that work will be announced later.
News about some appearances has already trickled out as the European summer festivals have begun announcing their seasons. Already announced are two important debuts at the start of the tour. The CSO's first appearance is on Aug. 25 in Usher Hall as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. The program includes Bernstein’s Suite from “On the Waterfront,” Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.
The Cincinnati Symphony’s ties to Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” goes back to 1942 when Andre Kostelanetz led its world premiere in Music Hall. This year marks the 75th anniversary of that event.
On Aug. 27, Langrée leads the orchestra in its BBC Proms debut. The concert, listed as “Prom 58," will be held in the renowned Royal Albert Hall in London. The program will feature the same two works by Bernstein and Copland, as well as Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.
The BBC Proms is an annual eight-week summer festival that was founded by conductor Henry Wood more than 120 years ago. Every concert is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and many also air on BBC Television. The iconic London venue, Royal Albert Hall, accommodates more than 5,000, including standing room for “prommers.”
The tour party will next travel south to Spain for two performances at San Sebastian’s Palacio de Congresso del Kursaal and one in Santander at the Palacio de Festivales. The prize-winning Palacio de Congresso del Kursaal, designed by Rafael Moneo, opened in 1999. The modern venue consists of two cubes made of translucent glass, sitting on the striking Bay of Biscay in Spain’s mountainous Basque Country. The first program on Aug. 29 will repeat that given in Royal Albert Hall. On the second night, Aug. 30, the program will consist of Adams’ “Short Ride in a Fast Machine,” Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.”
The orchestra travels next to Santander, the capital of the Cantabria region of Spain, for a concert at the Palacio de Festivales. It’s auditorium seating for 1,670 is known for its natural-sounding acoustics and looks out onto the Bay of Santander on Spain’s north coast. That program includes Adams, Bruch and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.
The musicians will then fly north again to The Netherlands to perform on Sept. 3 in Eindhoven in the Muziekgebouw, which was christened in 1992 by her majesty Queen Beatrix. The next day, the orchestra travels to Utrecht’s Tivoli Vredenburg, a contemporary complex that opened in 2014. Its program for both cities will be Bernstein’s Suite from “On the Waterfront,” the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 and Brahms’ First.
On Sept. 5, the CSO performs at Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, Belgium. There, it will play Bernstein’s “On the Waterfront,” Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony and a “test” run of the new edition of Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.”
The CSO will perform its final three concerts in Paris at La Seine Musicale. The stunning, spherical building sits on an island that was formerly home to the Renault automobile factory. Designed by architect Shigeru Ban, it has the unique feature of a solar “sail” that rotates around the glass building.
The first Paris concert on Sept. 8 will feature Bernstein’s Suite and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, as well as Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” narrated in French.
On Sept. 9, the orchestra performs a pair of concerts back-to-back (one in the afternoon and a second in the evening) including Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 and the official world premiere of the new critical edition of Gershwin’s jazzy tone poem, “An American in Paris.”
(The CSO gave a sneak peak of this version in March at the Taft Theatre, just before its Asia tour.)
The most significant update to "An American in Paris" is the tuning of the taxi horns. Gershwin’s original orchestration has been fully restored, featuring its evocation of a 1920s jazz reed section for three musicians playing on eight different saxophones, including a soprano saxophone trio. The edition was prepared by musicologist Mark Clague, director of the Gershwin Initiative at the University of Michigan. The research project is part of an educational partnership with the Gershwin estate.
The CSO’s own connection to the piece goes back to March 1929 when Gershwin was present for a CSO performance under then-music director Fritz Reiner. “The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has the spirit of Gershwin in its musical DNA,” says Michigan’s Clague.
Orchestra musicians will also be engaging in chamber music performances, master classes and other activities throughout the tour.
The CSO’s 2017 tours are made possible by Tom and Dee Stegman and the estate of Chuck Yeiser. Other supporters for the European tour include Sheila and Chris Cole; Tom Garber and Family; David Herriman; Sandra and Stephen Joffe; Marilyn and Jack Osborn; Dianne and J. David Rosenberg; The Harold C. Schott Foundation/Francie and Tom Hiltz, Trustees, and Randolph and Sallie Wadsworth.
The CSO's 2017 European tour at a glance
Aug. 25: Edinburgh, Scotland. Usher Hall , Edinburgh International Festival
Aug. 27: London, England. Royal Albert Hall, BBC Proms
Aug. 29: San Sebastian, Spain. Palacio de Congresso del Kursaal
Aug. 30: San Sebastian, Spain, Palacio de Congresso del Kursaal
Aug. 31: Santander, Spain. Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria
Sept. 3: Eindhoven, Netherlands. Muziekgebouw
Sept. 4: Utrecht, Netherlands. Tivoli Vredenburg
Sept. 5: Antwerp, Belgium. Queen Elisabeth Hall
Sept. 8: Paris, France. La Seine Musicale
Sept. 9: Paris, France. La Seine Musicale (two shows)
Follow along at cincinnati.com with the Enquirer's Janelle Gelfand, who will be accompanying the CSO