Another orchestra tour omits the UK
OrchestrasWe won’t be seeing Gianandrea Noseda next year.
Press release:
Music Director Gianandrea Noseda will lead the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) on its European tour, February 16–28, 2024. The two-week international tour will mark Noseda’s first with the Orchestra and includes 10 concerts across nine cities in three countries, a highlight being a homecoming performance in Noseda’s hometown of Milan, Italy, at Teatro alla Scala.
On this tour, the Orchestra visits Zaragoza, Spain for the first time and will make its debut at Spain’s Auditorio de Zaragoza, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. It will also make appearances at Berliner Philharmonie, Nuremberg’s Meistersingerhalle, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Cologne’s Philharmonie, Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana, and Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional de Música.
Music Director Gianandrea Noseda said: “This first international tour of my tenure will give the artists of the National Symphony Orchestra and me the opportunity to showcase what we have been achieving at the Kennedy Center, including works we are adding to our recording legacy. We will tour throughout Europe in our role as musical ambassadors and I’m proud that Carlos Simon, the Kennedy Center’s Composer-in-Residence, will be with us as well as violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Seong-Jin Cho. One of my personal highlights will be appearing with the NSO on the stage of Teatro alla Scala in my hometown of Milan. I’m excited for this tour and everyone who will have the opportunity to experience our performances.”
Maybe because the UK is chock-full of good, home-grown orchestras already?
Certainly many better than the NSO for sure.
Not really the point, is it?
Precisely. British orchestras are superb, I hear this from almost every international conductor who comes to work with us. The NSO is an able band, but nothing more. Next.
BTW: When a non-American starts saying ‘excited’ or ‘exciting’ when referring to projects, you can tell he’s spent too much time Stateside.
Of course they tell you that, they want to be invited back.
I find the British orchestras technically proficient, but bland, unless you have an interesting conductor. OK, this is true in many cases, but even with a less than stellar leader one can marvel at the sound of, say the Philadelphia or the Concertgebouw orchestras. Can’t say that about any British orchestras.
It’s a European tour. The UK is
NOT in Europe.
Oh yes it is
When will that referendum Brexit recount happen?
Doesn’t need to. 52/48 is an everyday margin in western democracies. In fact, larger than most. Sorry you lost, but get over it. It’s been seven years.
Until the correct result is achieved.
Oh no it isn’t!
You can tell the pantomime season is upon us.
The UK is definitely in Europe, it isn’t however in the EU.
Of course the UK is in Europe!
It’s not in the EU any more, alas, but it is in Europe!
‘Alas’? And you were doing so well…
The UK is no longer in the EU but it is still in Europe. Other examples are available.
It is in Europe, geographically, but not in the EU. A huge mistake on the part of those that voted to leave. Absolute stupidity.
Germany, the largest economy in Europe, is still in, and is in recession. What’s your point?
Be happy to have the average German income vs the average UK income. That’s Germany £42k to UK £38k. Plus Germany has superior state health care, etc.
Matter of opinion but let’s endless rehash old arguments…
Herve ….Of course the UK is in Europe! Do you really think it was wheeled away from the rest of the continent! ( It is no longer a member of the EU)
Of course the UK is in Europe! It’s not in the European Union, but is definitely in Europe. Do some reading!
So to which continent does it then belong?
North America!
Many a true word spoken in (semi-)jest.
Geographically, it is. Look at a map before commenting.
And ask Nigel Farage!
Of course it is. It’s no longer in the European Union though.
Erm, check a map. Yes it is. You’re confusing geographical reality with political constructs.
If you visit London, it’s more as if it’s in Africa or Asia.
This is also true.
Patently a racist comment. Perhaps you have the good grace to retract it. It’s not even risible. As for those who give it a thumbs up, shame on you.
hardly racist – large parts of the UK, not just London, are stuffed full of immigrants and no-go areas for Mr/Mrs Whitey
Racist fear-mongering Daily Mail propaganda. Name these areas.
Most Black and Asian people in the UK are second and third generation ffs, meaning they’re as British as you are, just slightly classier.
We are in Europe but not the EU. Very different things.
It is. It’s a geographical fact.
Have those pesky facts gone and ‘transitioned’ again?
Where do you think the UK is? Asia? Africa?
The UK left the European Union, a political entity. It didn’t uproot and move its geographical location, which has always been… IN EUROPE! It’s right next to Ireland, which is also… IN EUROPE!
If the UK can’t be included in a European tour, what do you expect artists to do—organise a special, one-off tour of just the UK?
That’s like saying Iceland, Norway and Switzerland aren’t in Europe. Or, Ukraine.
The UK is, unfortunately, no longer in the EU. It IS in Europe, whether it wants to be, or not.
See above. Facts can seemingly transition!
Very happy to be in Europe, but not in the EU. We did it for a very, very long time up to 1973.
I think you mean the EU, unless of course some invisible force has relocated Britain to the mid Atlantic. Europe and the EU are not one and the same thing, though many appear confused over the difference.
The UK is in deep shit. Why quibble about the lesser designations?
Hervé: “It’s a European tour. The UK is
NOT in Europe”
– You have to be a millenial.
I have a spoiler alert for you, pal! Europe existed for many many centuries before Jacques Delors and José Manuel Barroso!
He’s only going to three countries, so that leaves 23 countries in the EU alone that he won’t be visiting. The announcement makes no mention of omitting the UK. This looks like Lebrecht stirring it – again!
…or encouraging debate. Not so unsuccessfully, it would appear.
Twice the paperwork and bureaucratic hassle/expenses for one more city. Why bother?
Those who think Brexit is a disaster will lean towards this explanation. And it may be the unstated point of Lebrecht’s post. But as a stand-alone it doesn’t tell us much at all. I’d be interested to know how much of a decline there’s been in musicians from the EU touring the UK, and vice versa, due to Brexit-generated red tape. Anybody know?
Gianandrea Noseda is an excellent conductor and orchestra builder. The cities that he visits will enjoy his work.
Please stop conflating London, which is where these tours no longer now include, and the UK where they never, or rarely ever were. London is as alien to the rest of the UK as the UK now is to the rest of Europe.
nothing to miss – let’s just hope kind of Berlin or Vienna quality will return and also to the Proms
I disagree — the NSO has arguably the best horn section in the US at the moment.
Your moniker gave you away.
Not sure if the best horn section in the US, but it is definitely one of the most improved. And it was not just Noseda, but also Eschenbach who was responsible for this improvement.
Anyone who thinks that UK music hasn’t been affected by Brexit is a complete fool. No matter how loudly various organisations shouted from the sidelines, nothing was put in place to make the movement of musicians’ as hassle free as possible. Hopefully with a new government in power, there will be a chance to sort it out.
I daresay their sympathies are in the right direction, but it will hardly be a priority. They will have a lot to sort out. As things stand they are walking into a world with two major wars, one of which is particularly critical for them. They face a country in a major cost-of-living crisis, with a seemingly unsortable immigration crisis. Just for starters. Easier visas for foreign musicians will not figure early.
Labour will never make classical music a priority. Their only remaining nod towards the working class they shamelessly abandoned as New Labour will be that of pretending they hate elitism (while availing themselves, à la Grauniad, of expensive restaurants on their generous expense accounts).
It doesn’t just affect classical music, making your class point irrelevant, and they’re already on board with both MU & ISM policy proposals, so there is room for optimism.
We’ll see Noseda with the LSO, this year and next.
“We won’t be seeing Gianandrea Noseda next year.”
So when he conducts the LSO (in June, for example) will he be wearing a cloak of invisibility, or will Slipped Disc be wearing blinkers?
Lots of other countries they’re not going to, including France (no Philharmonie de Paris! Sacre Bleu!).
I find their programs rather disappointing – Eroica and Shostakovich 5 as the big symphonic pieces, IIRC. Never heard those before. It’s great they’re playing Carlos Simon but the NSO did a great thing in the past couple years playing the works of George Walker and William Grant Still; the Walker pieces – fine as they are – may not have much audience appeal but the Still pieces would. But the ever risk-averse local presenters…
Agreed! There are plenty of local bands who can play LvB and DSCH just as well, if not better. It would be good if US bands on tour could programme more American rep, and with that I’m including unfashionables such as Schuman, Creston and Piston.
“We won’t be seeing Gianandrea Noseda next year.”
(Apart from the multiple concerts he’s scheduled to conduct as principal guest conductor of the LSO)
Noseda has two upcoming concerts with the LSO at the Barbican 7th and 10th December. Next week!
A continuation of his highly popular Shostakovich symphonies.
Unfortunately, a tour to Oman was cancelled – Oman apparently citing lack of funds.
NL is stirring again. Patently obvious he’s not a LSO fan…
This says less about the orchestra (or Brexit for that matter), and more about the South Bank Centre and Barbican and their artistic direction. The former has not programmed this 2023/24 season, as far as I can see, a single foreign symphony orchestra (if I’m wrong, then I blame the funky website). Barbican managed two, Bayerische Staatsorchester for one, and LA with Dudamel for two. Total 3 concerts between the two halls for foreign symphony orchestras in the whole season. Look up Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Amsterdam etc. etc. and weep.
“We won’t be seeing Gianandrea Noseda next year.”
Yes you will. He’s one of the two Principal Guest conductors of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Thank you all for enlightening me about the UK’s location in the world. however, the point of the article is that it must be difficult to obtain work visas for foreign ochentas to work there or there is not enough money allocated for that purpose anymore.
I’m sure there weren’t eighty, but dontcha love autocarrot?
Since leaving the EU, we’ve been pretty much shunned by the the rest of EU (well done to the “leave” voters).
Being in the EU was a pain and being out is an even bigger one, but that’s life. Our country is f***ed! the government is a waste space, doesn’t function properly, they only look out for the rich and shun the poor.
The EU and probably the rest of the world now see the UK as a first world liability. We dived into leaving, blind. The government is inept, can’t tell their feet from their ass and can’t deal with the s**t THEY put us in.
We have more money going out to foreign aid and projects, then we have keeping us safe, clothed and housed in our own country. That being said, I’d hate to live in the US either
We need a radical change to the government, to the point, being a long and sharp shock.
You were doing well until paragraph four. This country is rich enough – well, the coffers of the rich are – to fund worthy foreign aid, but I’m not sure why we are funding countries with their own space programmes… Ah, PM’s family links…
Agree with you though that we do need a radical change of government, and an actual written, legally binding, constitution. And an end to the grifting that goes with the feudal and monarchic system.
Switzerland and Norway aren’t in the EU either. Generally these two countries are highly thought of.
Surely misinformation about Noseda not being seen in the UK next year. As far as I’m aware he’ll still be conducting the LSO!!