DEVON MALONEY
USHER HALL, EDINBURGH
ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON
Clockwise from left: Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland; Edinburgh skyline; Royal Albert Hall, home of the annual Proms festival; Palace of Westminster, London.
THE FIRST CONCERT in Edinburgh features pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, who also performs with the BSO during the 2018 – 19 season, in a program of Gershwin’ s Concerto in F, Stravinsky ' s Suite from The Firebird and Schumann’ s Symphony No. 2. The second performance, on August 25, takes place on the 100 th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein, one of Alsop’ s mentors. Orchestras and festivals around the world are paying homage to the American conductor and composer by celebrating his music this year, so this performance comes at a particularly noteworthy time. That concert includes Scottish
violinist Nicola Benedetti performing Bernstein’ s Serenade and features selections from his other works like West Side Story and On the Town.
“ It’ s very special to me that we are performing the music of Leonard Bernstein on what would have been his 100 th birthday,” notes Alsop.“ The pieces we’ ve selected for our programs in Edinburgh and London showcase the full spectrum of Bernstein’ s multi-faceted personality.”
After their second performance in Edinburgh, the musicians travel by train to London on August 26. London’ s Royal Albert Hall hosts Alsop and the BSO when they perform for a crowd of over 5,000 at The Proms on August 27. After performances of Bernstein’ s Slava! A Political Overture and Symphony No. 2,“ The Age of Anxiety,” with Thibaudet, who recorded the work with Alsop and the BSO for their 2014 Naxos release, the program concludes with Shostakovich’ s riveting Symphony No. 5. The BSO is one of only two professional American orchestras performing at this year’ s Proms.
“ It is an honor for the exceptional musicians of the BSO to perform with Music Director Marin Alsop at the Proms,” says Kjome.“ We look forward to representing Baltimore and Maryland in our great orchestra’ s debut at one of the most prestigious music festivals in the world.”
“ Audiences at these festivals and concert venues come from all over the world, so this is a wonderful opportunity and great honor to serve as cultural ambassadors for Maryland.”
Barbara Bozzuto BSO Board Chair
“ Touring is an important part of the performance schedule for a major orchestra like ours,” adds BSO Board Chair Barbara Bozzuto.“ Audiences at these festivals and concert venues come from all over the world, so this is a wonderful opportunity and great honor to serve as cultural ambassadors for Maryland.”
Alsop and the BSO launch the tour with a celebratory send-off concert on August 14 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. The following week, musicians will load their instruments into trunks and flight cases before they are
transported on cargo trucks to the airport. Instruments and equipment will follow the musicians through the duration of the tour on separate flights, trains and trucks.
“ One of the trickiest parts of traveling with musical instruments is working with CITES regulations,” says the BSO’ s Director of Operations Rebecca Cain.“ CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Many instruments have endangered species such as ivory, Pernambuco wood and rosewood. We’ ll work with experts to verify that all our instruments are allowed to travel and then submit the paperwork to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. When the process is done, we’ ll essentially have a passport for every instrument we are traveling with that contains any of the endangered species.”
The musicians( and their instruments) return home to Baltimore on August 30 before the 2018 – 19 season kicks into full gear. After a few weeks of rest, the BSO picks right back up with the Gala on September 15 before the new season launches on September 21 with Beethoven’ s“ Eroica” Symphony— the perfect selection for the Orchestra’ s triumphant return to Baltimore.
MAY – JUN 2018 / OVERTURE 9