Oslo Phil on tour to Central Europe

As the Oslo Philharmonic embarks on its tour this week, the audience of four venues in four central European cities may look forward to hearing the orchestra:

Musical Theater of Basel in Switzerland (Wednesday 16^th November), Konzerthaus in Vienna Thursday 17^th) and Brucknerhaus in Linz (Friday 18^th), both in Austria, and Meistersingerhalle in German city Nuremberg (Saturday 19^th).

– I look forward to bringing the jewel of Norwegian classical music to Europe and to show people in Basel, Linz, Vienna and Nuremberg the excellence of the orchestra, Vasily Petrenko says.

Two soloists will join the orchestra: violinist Arabella Steinbacher in Mendelssohn’s violin concerto (in Basel, Linz and Nuremberg) and cellist Truls Mørk in Dvořáks cello concerto (in Vienna). Both have recently performed the works with the Oslo Philharmonic in Oslo.

Music from successful new Prokofiev album

Oslo Philharmonic's recently released recording of Sergej Prokofjevs complete ballet Romeo and Juliet on Lawo Classics was described as “lovely playing all round” by The Guardian and has received very favorable reviews. In all the tour concerts the orchestra will play music from the two Romeo and Juliet suites.

– The most important aspect of going on tour is to establish the world class reputation of the orchestra, to show that we are in the top of the league, Vasily Petrenko says.

– It is also important for the orchestra to hear how we play in the different venues and acoustics. Hopefully, we will have a new concert hall in Oslo at some point, and we will consult the right architects and acoustics about the needs we are aware of. It is also beneficial for the musicians to hear their colleagues in different acoustics and learn how to adapt to them.

Read more: Petrenko and Oslo Phil record Strauss’ tone poems

Watch video from the England tour in March 2016: