Showcasing the depth and range of their extraordinary partnership, Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra return to Europe for the first time since 2018.
The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst embark on their 20th international tour together, with 12 performances in nine European cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg, Linz, Lucerne, Prague, and Vienna. Over the course of three weeks from August 31 to September 16, the tour’s concert programs will feature the music of Berg, Bruckner, Rihm, Schubert, Strauss, as well as Mozart with pianist Igor Levit.
The Cleveland Orchestra is a proud ambassador for Ohio, carrying the depth and breadth of local arts and cultural understanding across the globe. The 2022 Europe Tour is part of the Orchestra’s 105th season and the 21st year of the ensemble’s acclaimed partnership with Franz Welser-Möst.
This is the Orchestra’s 53rd international tour, and its 20th presented with Welser-Möst. Most recently, The Cleveland Orchestra toured Asia in spring 2019 with performances in Beijing, Macao, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Taipei, and Wuhan. The Orchestra’s most recent European Tour was during the 2017-18 Centennial season with stops in Vienna, Paris, Linz, Hamburg, and Luxembourg, and 2017-18 touring also included performances at New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. The Orchestra’s last scheduled European Tour during spring 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic.
“Nearly every season over the past half century, The Cleveland Orchestra has toured internationally,” said André Gremillet, The Cleveland Orchestra’s President and CEO. “We are eager to perform once again for our European audience and proudly represent and promote Cleveland and Ohio internationally. The Cleveland Orchestra, universally recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the world, is a great example of the quality that can be found in so many industries and organizations throughout our state. It also represents the very best American culture has to offer the world. Touring remains essential for our orchestra, both from an artistic and an audience development perspective. Music truly is a universal language that transcends cultures and connects us all, and that connection is probably more important today than it has ever been.”
“When The Cleveland Orchestra tours and travels the world, it is important to present a range of repertoire that showcases the Orchestra’s abilities and lets the artistry of this ensemble really shine. To that end, during our 2022 Europe Tour we’ve selected works by Strauss, Schubert, Bruckner, Berg, Mozart, and Rihm,” said Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst.
“I fundamentally believe that it is important for The Cleveland Orchestra to share our artistry with audiences throughout the world. Sharing our work is important so that more people can know and experience what we are creating in Cleveland. Live performances allow audiences to truly understand firsthand that we set a high bar — and that our standards are pretty much unmatched worldwide. We are not just one of the finest Orchestras in the world, we represent one of the finest cities too.”
Full touring details can be found here, and a promotional plan for the Strauss: Three Tone Poems album is available here.
