Gewandhausorchester Bids Adieu to Riccardo Chailly on European Tour

A tour across Europe had the Gewandhausorchester visiting beloved haunts in Vienna, Paris, Birmingham and London in October in what became a farewell tour to Gewandhauskapellmeister Riccardo Chailly, who recently announced his departure from the orchestra.

After eleven years of unprecedentedly fruitful collaboration between Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester, including over 220 concerts on 40 tours and countless other successes, these concerts marked the final appearances outside Leipzig before Riccardo Chailly steps down from the position of Gewandhauskapellmeister in June 2016.

From October 5 - 23, 2015, Riccardo Chailly led the Gewandhausorchester in a complete programmatic cycle on a tour of the Orchestra's established residency cities, Vienna, Paris and London. In addition, the Orchestra and Chailly played one concert in Birmingham. It was during Chailly's tenure that these cooperative ventures in cities across Europe were formed, with guest performances founded with the Vienna Musikverein, the Barbican Centre London, and the Cité de la musique Paris (Philharmonie or Salle Pleyel).

The concerts on this tour included an intensely stimulating juxtaposition of the music of two such apparently irreconcilable composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss, as Chailly combined seven of Strauss's greatest tone poems with three of the Viennese master's most beloved solo concertos.

As always, the concerts received raving reviews, including one from Colin Anderson at Classical Source who remarked,

“This final concert confirming that the ensemble, as well as being one of the oldest, remains one of the greatest.”

- Colin Anderson, Classical Source

Although Riccardo Chailly will be replaced as Gewandhauskapellmeister as of the 2017/18 season by Andris Nelsons, Chief Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra's tours will continue in future as a means of bringing Leipzig's unique classical music heritage to its fans around the world.

“We are indebted to the ten year era of the Gewandhauskapellmeister Riccardo Chailly for confirming and solidifying the Gewandhausorchester's top ranking among the world-class orchestras, for impressively expanding the orchestra's international reputation, and for regaining the orchestra's reputation as an ensemble for world premiere performances. I am very thankful for these ten years of intensive artistic cooperation,” Gewandhaus Director Professor Andreas Schulz said at a press conference announcing Chailly's successor.

Likewise, DHL as Official Logistics Partner of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester since 2009, is grateful for the collaboration begun with the world-famous orchestra during Riccardo Chailly's tenure. Today, the partnership includes the logistic planning of the orchestra's tours, transport of sensitive musical instruments and other essential equipment including music stands, stools, the conductor's rostrum and wardrobe on concert tours across Europe, Asia and North America.

To learn more about the partnership between the Gewandhausorchester and DHL as well as to read more about the concerts performed during the European Tour 2015, you can go to the official Gewandhausorchester Tour Blog or follow them on Twitter.