Dallas Symphony’s 10-stop Europe tour omits the UK
OrchestrasThe pride of Texas are making are return to Europe’s major concert halls after an absence of ten years, led by music director Fabio Luisi.
They will not stop in London because the city’s two major arts centres have neither the funds nor the interest in hosting major orchestras. Message to other US orchs: don’t waste your time.
The DSO’s complete summer 2024 tour schedule:
Monday, June 3, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Auditorio del Palacio de Congresos | Zaragoza, Spain
ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN What Keeps Me Awake
WEILL Four Walt Whitman Songs (with Thomas Hampson, baritone)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor
Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Auditorio Nacional de Musica | Madrid, Spain
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor (with James Ehnes, violin)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”
Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Auditorio Nacional de Musica | Madrid, Spain
ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN What Keeps Me Awake
WEILL Four Walt Whitman Songs (with Thomas Hampson, baritone)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor
Friday, June 7, 2024, at 8:00 p.m.
Alte Oper Frankfurt | Frankfurt, Germany
ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN What Keeps Me Awake
WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor
Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 8:00 p.m.
Konzerthaus Freiburg | Freiburg, Germany
WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin)
MAHLER Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
Sunday, June 9, 2024, at 8:00 p.m.
Isarphilharmonie | Munich, Germany
SOPHIA JANI Flare
WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor
Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at 8:00 p.m.
Elbphilharmonie | Hamburg, Germany
ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN What Keeps Me Awake
WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor
Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Konzerthaus Wien | Vienna, Austria
ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN What Keeps Me Awake
WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”
Friday, June 14, 2024, at 6:00 p.m.
Kolner Philharmonie | Cologne, Germany
ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN What Keeps Me Awake
WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor
Saturday, June 15, 2024, at 8:00 p.m.
Philharmonie Essen Alfried-Krupp-Saal | Essen, Germany
WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin)
MAHLER Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
Sunday, June 16, 2024, at 7:00 p.m.
Bozar Music | Brussels, Belgium
WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2 (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin)
MAHLER Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
The usual circuit then!
Yes, but what is even the point of this orchestra touring Europe?!
Because they are fantastic!!!!! And Fabio Luisi really has added a new sheen!
Litton was great, Zweden so boring…
Message to the public – these are programmes you can avoid. Who needs This will keep me awake or Williams’ conc anyhow?
The rest of the world cares not really much about what keeps you awake
It’s Dallas. Not saying it isn’t a “major orchestra” and wouldn’t be interesting to hear, but I think the big London venues have a fairly good idea of what’s likely to sell tickets.
Many orchestras seem to be avoiding the UK since Brexit. My orchestra used to tour there nearly every season… until Brexit. It’s logistically more complicated now, so orchestra often choose to stick to the EU countries, sadly.
Three probable explanations:
1- Brexit. Too much hassle.
2- The UK has, realistically, one city which can be visited, outside Edinburgh for the festival. Germany has four major ones (Berlin-Munich-Frankfurt-Hamburg, and a bunch of smaller ones which still have the hall, public, and prestige to attract orchestras.
3- Going to London would have added a flight ($$$). Now, they’ll do Spain by train, and then fly and do Germany (plus Vienna and Brussels) by train. Not worth it for only one destination (and, realistically, would you put an orchestra on a UK train to Manchester, the way they’re run?).
Very good orchestra. The UK’s loss………..
Those Kurt Weill settings of Whitman are magnificent, and Thomas Hampson does them brilliantly.
Funny that Luisi is leading Dallas in Mahler for a European tour but didn’t invite them to the Mahler Festival at the Concertgebouw, opting to lead his other orchestra, the NHK, instead.
Come to think of it, neither the current nor the past music director invited Dallas, Jaap van Zweden choosing to lead Chicago instead in the 6 and 7. To rub salt in the wound, Dallas actually played the Mahler 6 at the Concertgebouw under Jaap. Ouch.
It’s a European tour. England is not part of Europe.
so which continent does it belong to?
Replying to Norman…
Fantasy Asia. The illegal referendum dominated by corruption and tory lies demanded complete rupture from Europe. Tories joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to replace the EU. If you think that makes no sense, it doesn’t. It’s stupid. It’s tory. There is no benefit. It’s straight europhobia. Tories insisted on breaking from everything EU. Tories tried to insist on replacing the globally-accepted CE quality mark with their own silly little effort. Sadly no one was interested so the UK mark has had to be quietly dumped. Tories tried to replace membership of the massive Horizon Europe science R&D programme with their own silly go-it-alone effort called Pioneer. Sadly no one was interested and there was no funding anyway. It’s been dumped of course and it looks like Tories have been forced to join Horizon Europe on much worse terms than when the country was a full EU member. I could continue for hours. Many or even most of the anti-EU tory fanatics have either been thrown out of the tory party, lost their seats or are resigning their seats at the next election. In the meantime tory fanatics have tried everything to make rejoining the EU as difficult as possible and so ensure that failed uk remains in fantasy Asia.
If every stop in Europe made by the Dallas band was solely along the level of a Paris, Berlin or Rome, then leaving out London would be more noticeable. Even then, when it comes to social, cultural and political influence, London often tells other places, “Hold my beer.”
Incidentally, a lot of the biggest, more popular movies internationally over the past 10-20 years have been created in London/UK & not Hollywood/NYC/US.
Maybe it’s too much hassle having to do customs and immigration in both the UK and the EU.
In any case, Dallas is a great orchestra and Europeans should hear them. I’m at least glad that instead of a having a soloist play the Mendelssohn Concerto, they have ASM playing John Williams, something actually novel.
And much as I love Mahler, it would be neat to see them do some of the Nielsen symphonies that he recorded in Denmark (if #4 isn’t a great tour piece, what is?), or an American symphony – Copland 3 if you don’t want to get too out there.
They also don’t play in Berlin, Paris or Rome.
So London seems more like an omission in line with the strategy of the marketeers, rather than a particular Brexit issue in this case, as destructive and stupid Brexit is anyway.
They will not stop in London because the city’s two major arts centres have neither the funds nor the interest in hosting major orchestras. Message to other US orchs: don’t waste your time.
Incorrect: BRSO, OSM, Flanders all
Came through.
Some orchestras just don’t have the willpower to fill out twice the visa applications. Brexit strikes yet again!
Tchaikofsky-5 was also performed during Europe tour 1996, under Andrew Litton. (i.a. Amsterdam) Just a year after the fatal plane crash of the former conductor Eduardo Mata, which I greatly admired. (Regular guest conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic)
To those of us that attended the last couple of seasons of the PROMS this kind of situation comes as no surprise, the decrease of foreign orchestras visiting the UK has become quite apparent.
Musicians of all kinds have raised their voice against Brexit and how badly it is affecting the musical scene in the UK.
The UK may become a musical backwater with far lower contacts with the exterior due to the stupidity of Brexit.