In Friday’s (4/23) Star-Tribune (Minneapolis), Graydon Royce reports, “The Minnesota Orchestra will travel to three major European festivals this summer—including a return to the BBC Proms, regarded as one of the world’s top classical-music events. Following two performances at the Proms, the orchestra will visit the Edinburgh International Festival and then play at the famous Great Hall of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. The tour, Aug. 24-31, has been entirely underwritten by an anonymous donor. Thursday’s tour announcement continues a string of good news from the orchestra—following favorable notices for a late-winter concert at Carnegie Hall and the unveiling of a $40 million renovation of Orchestra Hall. … Music director Osmo Vänskä is well known in Scotland, where he was chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony in Glasgow from 1996 to 2002. … Violinist Lisa Batiashvili will play violin concertos by Alban Berg and Mozart on the tour. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein will be along for Shostakovich and Elgar concertos. In addition, the program will include Bruckner’s Fourth, Beethoven’s Seventh and Samuel Barber’s ‘Music for a Scene From Shelley.’ ”
Posted April 23, 2010
