PSO to Lucerne

 

It was great news to hear recently that the Pittsburgh Symphony is going back to the Lucerne Festival, as well as working on a European tour with music director Manfred Honeck at the helm. When the orchestra decided against a tour there during a contract year in 2005, it seemed as if it might never get back. The Cleveland Orchestra stepped in for a very successful three-year stint. Now, the tables turned, as the PSO is going back because the San Francisco Symphony canceled an appearance.

Lucerne is the premier festival perhaps in the world for visiting American orchestras, and the prestige that comes with it makes touring there a priority -- really an at-all-costs priority for an orchestra such as the PSO that counts its high status in Europe (where many think it is the best American orchestra) as a major calling card. So, congrats to the PSO for going back, and to the Hillmans whose new tour fund will help get the PSO there.

Speaking of donors for tours, check this out: The Minnesota Orchestra's recently announced European tour in 2009 with Josh Bell will be "fully funded by a private donor." Wow. The Minnesota orchestra isn't going to podunk places, either: it is hitting the Musikverein, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Barbican and more. I am not in the gossip circles there anymore (I was a student and critic in the Twin Cities in the 1990s), so I don't know who the donor is, but what a shot in the arm that is -- tours are very expense things, as Philly knows...