The National Symphony Orchestra heads off in June on its first concert tour with music director Christoph Eschenbach. Stops include Mexico City; Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago; Buenos Aires and Rosario in Argentina; Montevideo in Uruguay; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
The orchestra's first international tour was to South America in 1950. "It is especially pleasing that this tour visits a part of the world that occupies a very important place in the NSO's history, as it does in mine," Eschenbach said in a statement Tuesday.
"One of my very earliest tours as a pianist included many of the same countries we will visit, and to this day I remember the warmth and welcome of the audiences. I'm sure that our concerts will be enjoyed by our audiences, and will contribute to greater international artistic friendship," Eschenbach said
Programming for the trip, June 12-27, includes Beethoven's Seventh, Tchaikovsky's Fifth and Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier," as well as Lalo's Cello Concerto with soloist Claudio Bohórquez. A new NSO commission, "Blue Blazes" Sean Shepherd, will also be featured.