Askonas Holt is thrilled to continue our relationship with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin as they embark on their first international tour since 2019.

They kick off their tour today with the first of a four-concert residency at the Edinburgh International Festival, with two performances at Usher Hall, one in The Queen’s Hall, and a special livestream from the Edinburgh Playhouse to Princes Street Gardens in celebration of the Festival’s 75^th anniversary. The concerts mark the first time the Orchestra has performed at the Festival since 2010, and include an intimate chamber concert in which Yannick joins his orchestral colleagues as soloist for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.12.

From Edinburgh they head to Germany for two performances in Hamburg as well as concerts at Musikfest Berlin and Kulturpalast Dresden. They then travel to Switzerland for two nights at the Lucerne Festival followed by two nights at the Philharmonie de Paris before finally returning to the UK for two performances at the BBC Proms.

The programme includes works rarely performed in the tour cities, including Florence Price’s Symphony No.1, their recording of which was released earlier this year to critical acclaim, winning a Grammy for Best Orchestral Performance.

The Orchestra will be joined by Lisa Batiashvili for Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Chausson’s Poème, and Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, and by soprano Angel Blue for the European premiere performances of Valerie Coleman’s This Is Not a Small Voice (specially commissioned by the Orchestra) and for Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915.

They will also present selections from Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout by the Orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence, Gabriela Lena Frank, and audience favourites Beethoven symphonies 3 and 5, and Dvořák Symphony No.7.

After a chance to catch their breath, Yannick and the Orchestra open their new season in Philadelphia with a gala concert on 28 September with special guests Lang Lang and BalletX.