Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra set to undertake major tours of Japan and China and perform at the BBC Proms, the world’s biggest classical music festival during 2018

‘Something very special is happening in Liverpool …Petrenko’s achievement is astonishing and the playing is world class.’  The Sunday Times

Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko will lead the Orchestra on a seven-concert tour of Japan starting today, 9 to 19  May following a triumphant first visit in 2015, with concerts in Tokyo’s legendary Suntory Hall and major concert halls in  Saitama, Hyogo, Osaka, Nagoya and Matsumoto.

They will be performing works by Walton, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov in three different concert programmes and will be joined on the tour by two virtuoso Japanese soloists.  Nobuyuki Tsujii will be performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 and Grieg’s Piano Concerto both of which he performed with the Orchestra in sold-out concerts earlier this year at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.  These concerts were live streamed around the world in partnership with Liverpool Philharmonic's media partner, Classic FM, and to date have reached close to 200,000 people from around the world.

Violinist Fumiaki Miura will perform Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending. With Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, these concert programmes bring together the Orchestra and Petrenko’s tradition of performing English music with their reputation for signature interpretations of the Russian classics. 

Japan is followed by the Orchestra and Petrenko’s third tour to China from  11 – 22  July, following tours in 2010 during which they supported the City of Liverpool’s presence at the World EXPO in Shanghai, and 2014. 

Performing six concerts in major venues in Shanghai,Beijing, Hangzhou, Quingdao and Nanjing, three different concert programmes feature Walton’s Johannesburg Festival Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4,  Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain, Saint Saëns’ Danse Macabre and music by Lennon and McCartney. The Russian virtuoso pianist Boris Giltburg, whose recent recording of Shostakovich’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with the Orchestra and Petrenko received world-wide critical acclaim, joins the tour to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

On 29 August, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall for their fifth Prom together with Vasily Petrenko, who made his BBC Proms debut with the Orchestra during Liverpool’s Capital of Culture Year in 2008.  

German soprano Diana Damrau joins Petrenko and the Orchestra to sing songs by Richard Strauss in a Prom concert that also includes Elgar’s Italy-inspired overture In the South, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, and the world premiere of Iain Bell’s Aurora which has been jointly commissioned by Liverpool Philharmonic and the BBC  Proms and composed especially for Damrau.

The concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. 

Commenting on Liverpool Philharmonic’s tours and Prom during 2018, Chief Executive Michael Eakin said:

‘It is a measure of our current reputation that in recent years  we have toured to Japan and China for the first time, and have immediately been invited back for return visits . The BBC Proms has a world-wide audience of millions through its radio, television and on-line broadcasts. It is a fantastic showcase for the acclaimed musical partnership between our Chief Conductor, Vasily Petrenko and our musicians and we are delighted to be returning.

''We are very aware that when we are performing in the UK and around the world we are international ambassadors for our city. We are proud to be representing Liverpool on the global stage.  International touring along with our regular broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM, concert live streaming, recordings and downloads of our music on digital platforms means we have a unique role as an international ambassador on for our city.'

 Vasily Petrenko, now in his 12th season with Orchestra and the Gramophone Awards Artist of the Year 2017 said:

 ‘It is a great honour to be invited back to China, Japan and the BBC Proms.  We are looking forward to exploring different musical cultures and to performing in stunning venues with some fantastic soloists who will bring a very high level of musicianship and performance.

‘Touring plays an important part in cementing the international stature of the Orchestra, and it's a great demonstration of how the Orchestra is the most mobile of Liverpool’s cultural assets and an important part of its national and international identity. We are able to reach new audiences and represent Liverpool on a world stage as a great place to live, study, work and invest in.’

Notes to Editors

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performs widely throughout the UK and internationally. The Orchestra made its first tour abroad in 1966 under the baton of Charles Groves and has since given concerts in the USA and Far East, as well as throughout Europe. In 1993 the Orchestra became the first non-Czech orchestra to have the honour of performing the opening concerts at the Prague Spring Festival, and has returned to on many occasions since.  Since his appointment in 2006, Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko has also led the Orchestra on past tours to China Japan, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Netherlands, Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic.

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Further information from Jayne Garrity, Head of Communications, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic: telephone 0151 210 3791/07967 364241 email:jayne.garrity@liverpoolphil.com