March 2018
On this tour, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra continues its exploration of music closely linked to Austro-Hungarian musical traditions. As the meeting place and melting pot for different European cultures, Central Europe has facilitated, in many ways, the formation of a European identity. This journey, which began with the MCO concert at the Lucerne Festival 2017 and continues in the upcoming seasons, was developed together with conductor François-Xavier Roth, who directed the MCO in Lucerne and who returns to conduct the MCO on this project.
This tour sees the MCO and François-Xavier Roth revisiting the music of Béla Bartók and Joseph Haydn, composers who – despite coming from two different eras and cultural traditions – are synonymous with Central Europe. French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras joins the orchestra for Haydn’s Cello Concerto no. 2, one of the most important works in the canon of cello repertoire.
The MCO returns to three very familiar cities on this tour: Ferrara, the orchestra’s oldest residency; Reggio Emilia, where the MCO has performed regularly since its beginnings; and Heidelberg, where the MCO begins a long-term cooperation at the annual music festival Heidelberger Frühling.