This month brings simultaneous tours across Asia for two of our world-renowned orchestral partners.

Continuing a relationship that spans decades, our Tours and Projects team takes the Berliner Philharmoniker to South Korea and Japan for a twelve-date tour – the orchestra’s first in the region with Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko, and their first in Asia since the pandemic.

Following two performances in Seoul - one with pianist Seong-Jin Cho - the orchestra heads to Takamatsu, Himeji, Osaka, Nagoya and Kawasaki, before finishing with a residency at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. Programmes on the tour include Mozart’s Symphony No.29, Berg’s Three Pieces for Orchestra and Brahm’s Symphony No.4, alongside Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4, R. Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben and Max Reger’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart.

The five-concert residency at Suntory Hall sees launch of the BePhil Orchestra - a community project which brings together nearly 100 amateur musicians from across Japan with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker for a series of rehearsals and a public performance.

November also sees our Tours and Projects department bring the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to South Korea. The orchestra joins forces with conductor Fabio Luisi and pianist Yefim Bronfman for Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.2 alongside Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5 and Weber’s Overture from Oberon. A second performance includes Dvořák’s Symphony No.9, 'From the New World' paired with Bizet’s Symphony in C.

The tour marks our third in Asia with the RCO, following concerts in 2017 in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul, as well as a week-long residency in 2015 which showcased the complete Beethoven symphonies at the Seoul Arts Center under Iván Fischer.