September 2021
Alternating self-directed ensemble works with those that centre around the piano, this tour reunites the MCO with sensational pianist Yuja Wang for an extended European tour.
Haydn's "Horn Signal" symphony opens each programme, a commanding showcase directed from within the orchestra by MCO Concertmaster Matthew Truscott. Such an approach is not only historically informed; some scholars believe this is how Haydn himself, a violinist, would have led the first performance at Schloss Esterhazy, where this tour concludes. But it is also done to celebrate the agility, responsiveness and self-determination of the ensemble. And on a smaller scale this is also true of Stravinsky's Octet, where the winds guide themselves alone to mark half a century since the composer's death.
The centre of these programmes is formed of works for solo piano and ensemble. Whether Bach, Janáček, or Shostakovich's second piano concerto, which closes each performance, these pieces highlight the individual and unmistakable strengths of Yuja Wang's piano playing. While her talent has usually leads her to work alongside the world's most celebrated conductors, it was with this orchestra that Wang first took the lead for herself on our last tour together in 2017.