EUYO 2019 Spring Tour

The European Union Youth Orchestra announces its 2019 Spring Tour with concerts including a Capital Sounds performance, the launch of The Listening Project, and a major new Italian outreach programme, Orchestra in Città!

Following a highly successful residency in Ferrara, the EUYO today begins a major spring tour across Europe and the Middle East led by EUYO Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko, with soloists Kristine Opolais, Natalya Pavlova and Michael Schade

10 public performances, plus outreach and education work from 7th to 24th April in Reggio Emilia, Ferrara, Milan, Udine, Muscat, Grafenegg, Luxembourg and Saarbrücken;

116 of Europe’s finest young classical musicians from all 28 EU countries, taught by a team of world-class tutors;

Launch of Orchestra in Città!, a major new project in Ferrara embedding the EUYO in the city with education, participation and performance events throughout the year;

Launch of The Listening Project, a year-long theme for 2019 focusing on how orchestras, audiences and societies listen;

Continuation of the EU member state capitals project Capital Sounds, with a performance in the Luxembourg Philharmonie and a Luxembourg Conservatoire workshop given by EUYO players;

Gala Concert at the Royal Opera House Muscat to mark the EUYO’s debut in Oman;

Performances of Bruckner’s Symphony n. 4 and Shostakovich’ Symphony n. 10 in programmes including works by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, Boito, Puccini, Mascagni and Mozart;

An extensive chamber music programme to broaden and deepen EUYO members’ musical skills.

Spring Tour overview

The European Union Youth Orchestra spring tour in 2019 includes a special ‘Open Theatre’ day in Ferrara, education work, and 9 concerts across Austria, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Oman, from 7th - 24th April 2019.

More than a hundred players from all the current EU member states came together in March 2019 in Ferrara, Italy, to rehearse and work with expert instrumental tutors and professors before the arrival of Vasily Petrenko, EUYO’s Chief Conductor, who will lead them in concerts.

During the 2019 Spring Tour, musicians of the European Union Youth Orchestra will have the opportunity to perform in great concert halls as diverse as the old-style Teatro Comune Claudio Abbado in Ferrara, which still retains most of is 1798 décor, and the 2011 Royal Opera House Muscat, whose lavish and luxurious style is amongst the finest in the world.

Launch of major citywide outreach programme Orchestra in Città! in Ferrara

During the 2019 Spring Tour, the EUYO launches a major new initiative as part of its residency in Ferrara, aimed at spreading the joy of both music-making and listening to all sections of the communities that make up the city of Ferrara. In order to achieve this aim, especially designed open rehearsals, concerts, instrument demonstrations, participation projects and outreach projects in Ferrara are taking place throughout the year.

Orchestra in Città! will attract audiences from all parts of the city; from the young to the old, from diverse social areas, and from musicians and non-musicians. At its heart, the project is about music as a mean to enhance people’s lives – in this case, the people of Ferrara – and to deepen the Orchestra’s residency in the city.

Initial Orchestra in Città! partners include the Comune di Ferrara, the Conservatorio di Ferrara, Ferrara Musica, Associazione Musicisti di Ferrara, L'Orchestra Città di Ferrara and Orchestra a plettro Gino Neri.

Launch of the 2019 theme: The Listening Project

Throughout 2019 the EUYO is running The Listening Project, an initiative that will explore how musicians, as well as audiences, listen. Most of us arguably take listening for granted, yet it is undoubtedly a complex activity. Musicians are accustomed and trained to listen to each other on stage, but listening as a general capability seems to be short in supply in our increasingly technological world, where polarising politics and individualism make it harder for all of us to be able to listen to each other.

The Listening Project will explore such experiences and much more, with contributions from world-renowned artists, and explorations of a variety of techniques to help players and audiences listen. In the process, the European Union Youth Orchestra hope to help hone the listening skills of Europe’s young musicians, whilst also shedding light on how in a challenging moment for Europe we can all improve by developing and expanding our listening.

Spring Tour 2019 performances

The Spring Tour opening concert takes place in Reggio Emilia, Italy, on Tuesday 9th April, in the Teatro Romolo Valli. The EUYO then performs two concerts as part of its residency in Ferrara, Italy, at the Teatro Comunale Claudio Abbado on the 11th and 13rth April, performing in-between these evenings on 12 April in Milan at the Serate Musicali of the Conservatorio di Milano. The Orchestra then completes its Spring tour Italian tour with a performance in Udine on Sunday 14 April.

On Thursday 18 April the EUYO will be in Muscat, in the Sultanate of Oman, for a Gala concert at the Royal Opera House Muscat, for its Oman concert debut. The tour closes with concerts in Austria, Luxembourg and Germany: on Sunday 21 April the Orchestra performs a traditional Osterkonzert in Grafenegg, travelling to Luxembourg for a Capital Sounds concert, the EUYO’s multi-year project begun in 2016 to perform in every European Union member state capital. Each Capital Sounds performance features a keynote speech by a significant citizen of the visited country, and work with young players of that country. In Luxembourg the opening address will be given by Michel Wurth, the renowned economist, lawyer, manager and vice-president of the Luxembourg Red Cross. In addition, EUYO players will be at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg to give a workshop.

The EUYO will perform its final Spring Tour concert in Germany, at Saarbrücken, as the Opening concert of the Musikfestspiele Saar, in the Congresshalle Saarbrücken.

“The EUYO’s 2019 Spring tour continues the Orchestra’s cultural ambassadorship of the European Union with high quality artistic partnerships and performances, a pan-European initiative involving the EU member states, and an innovative approach to diversifying the audiences for classical music. We are particularly happy to launch our Orchestra in Città! programme, an opportunity to spread the joy of both music-making and listening to all sections of our new home city of Ferrara” Marshall Marcus, Secretary General, EUYO

Full details of the concerts can be found below.

2019 Chamber Music programme

Chamber Music is a vital part of the Orchestra’s programme, and during the Spring Tour the following repertoire will be studied and performed by EUYO players:

Medaglia - Belle epoque en Sud-America
Briccialdi - Wind quintet in D Major
Dvořák - Terzetto in C major op. 74
Elgar - String Serenade Grieg String Quartet in G minor
Handel-Halvorsen - Passacaglia
Mozart - Clarinet Quintet
Piazzolla - La Muerte del Angel
Piazzolla - Oblivion
Ravel - Tombeau de Couperin
Reich - Clapping
Reich - Music for pieces of Wood
Schubert - String Quintet in C Major D. 956

The EUYO’s members

Every year the European Union Youth Orchestra holds annual auditions in all (currently 28) European Union member states in order to select the finest orchestral musicians between the ages of 16 and 26.

The selected members receive an invitation to join the Spring and Summer Tours, where they have the opportunity to work with expert instrumental tutors and professors to hone their performance skills, perform in important concert venues in Europe and beyond, and get to know other talented musicians from across other EU member states.

In addition to the preparation of repertoire, the rehearsal period offers the players opportunities for chamber music, recreational and social activities to enable musicians to make the most of working in a transnational environment, and to learn the skills necesary to engage with a diverse 21st century audiences, and become, in the process, tomorrow’s musical leaders.

About the EUYO

The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) is one of the world's pre-eminent symphony orchestras. Described by the UK Guardian as having “gripping, exhilaratingly good orchestral playing, surging with energy, laser-sharp focus and collective daring... [with] a technical prowess that is downright terrifying”, and by EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as “the best possible ambassador for the European Union” it has provided an exceptional bridge between music colleges and the professional music world for generations of Europe's finest musicians since its foundation in 1976.

The Orchestra has worked with many of the world’s greatest musicians including Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Mstislav Rostropovich and particularly its three Music Directors and current Chief Conductor: Founding Music Director Claudio Abbado, former Music Director Vladimir Ashkenazy, former Music Director and current Conductor Laureate Bernard Haitink, and Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko.

The EUYO’s 3,000 alumni have all come through the Orchestra's rigorous, annual audition process conducted in all (currently 28) EU Member States, and many are now notable conductors, soloists, teachers and instrumentalists working with the major orchestras of Europe and throughout the world. A truly global brand, the EUYO has performed in most of the world’s major concert halls and festivals, including the BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Musikverein. From Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi, Moscow to Mumbai, Seoul to São Paulo, the Orchestra has appeared in many hundreds of venues across five continents.

Recent awards include the European Orchestra Award in Dresden from the European Culture Awards TAURUS, and a Cultural Diplomat of the Year Award at the Abu Dhabi Culture Summit. During the 2018-19 season, the Orchestra appears in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the UK, China and Oman, with a further invitation to North Africa. In its Ferrara home, it launches a major new Orchestra in Citta! project in April 2019, and throughout 2019 devotes its season to The Listening Project, an initiative focusing on how orchestras and audiences listen.

The Orchestra's headquarters, legal seat and residencies in Italy are thanks to support from the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Ferrara, the Italian national broadcast organisation RAI, and Bolzano Festival Bozen. Additionally the EUYO is resident orchestra at its summer home and principal venue partner Grafenegg in Lower Austria, and partner of Campus Grafenegg. The EUYO is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission and by the (currently 28) Member States of the European Union.

Founded by Joy and Lionel Bryer in 1976, the EUYO has been a Cultural Ambassador for the European Union for more than forty years. The EUYO’s Honorary President is Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, and its Honorary Patrons include the Heads of Government of the EU’s Member States and the President of the European Commission. In recent years, the EUYO has added to its enviable tradition with a series of innovative learning and performance programmes pioneered in its Creative Europe Towards 2020 project, helping to train its members with the skills necessary to meet the challenges of 21^st century society and audiences.

Spring 2019 Concert Schedule

Reggio Emilia, Italy
SPRING TOUR OPENING CONCERT

Teatro Municipale Romolo Valli
Tuesday 9 April, 20:30 - Ticketed event

Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Natalya Pavlova Soprano

Mikhail Glinka
Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Zdes’ khorosho op. 21, no. 7

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Polonaise & Tatiana’s letter scene from Eugene Onegin

Anton Bruckner
Symphony no. 4 in E-flat major WAB 104

___________________________________

Ferrara, Italy
FERRARA MUSICA

Teatro Comunale Claudio Abbado
Thursday 11 April, 20:30 - Ticketed event

Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Kristine Opolais Soprano

Mikhail Glinka
Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Zdes’ khorosho op. 21, no. 7

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Polonaise & Tatiana’s letter scene from Eugene Onegin

Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony no. 10 in E minor, op. 93

___________________________________

Milan, Italy
SERATE MUSICALI

Sala Verdi, Conservatorio di Milano
Friday 12 April, 20:45 - Ticketed event

Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Kristine Opolais Soprano

Mikhail Glinka
Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Zdes’ khorosho op. 21, no. 7

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Polonaise & Tatiana’s letter scene from Eugene Onegin

Anton Bruckner
Symphony no. 4 in E-flat major WAB 104

___________________________________

Ferrara, Italy
FERRARA MUSICA

Teatro Comunale Claudio Abbado
Saturday 13 April, 20:30 - Ticketed event

Vasily Petrenko Conductor

Richard Strauss
Moonlight from the opera Capriccio

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony no. 38 in D major, K. 504 Prague

Anton Bruckner
Symphony no. 4 in E-flat major WAB 104

___________________________________

Udine, Italy
STAGIONE SINFONICA 2018/2019

Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine
Sunday 14 April, 20:45 - Ticketed event

Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Natalia Pavlova Soprano

Mikhail Glinka
Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Zdes’ khorosho op. 21, no. 7

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Polonaise & Tatiana’s letter scene from Eugene Onegin

Anton Bruckner
Symphony no. 4 in E-flat major WAB 104

___________________________________

Muscat, Oman
GALA CONCERT

Royal Opera House Muscat
Thursday 18 April, 19:30 - Ticketed event

Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Kristine Opolais Soprano

Mikhail Glinka
Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Zdes’ khorosho op. 21, no. 7
Vocalise, op. 34, no. 14

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Polonaise & Tatiana’s letter scene from Eugene Onegin

Arrigo Boito
“L’altra notte” from Mefistofele

Giacomo Puccini
Preludio sinfonico in A major
“O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi

Pietro Mascagni
Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana

Giacomo Puccini
“Un bel dì vedremo” from Madama Butterfly

Concert in collaboration with EMMA for Peace

___________________________________

Grafenegg, Austria
OSTERKONZERT

Grafenegg Auditorium
Sunday 21 April, 18:30 - Ticketed event

Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Michael Schade Tenor

Richard Strauss
Moonlight from the opera Capriccio
Zueignung op. 10, no. 1
Cäcilie op. 27, no. 2
Morgen! op. 27, no. 4
Liebeshymnus op. 32, no. 3
Befreit op. 39, no. 4

Anton Bruckner
Symphony no. 4 in E-flat major WAB 104

___________________________________