Playbill March 2018 | the Philadelphia Orchestra
March 2018 4 From the Executive Office Dear Friends: From its earliest days, The Philadelphia Orchestra has traveled beyond its hometown borders, introducing those from far and wide to its magnificent music-making. Just four days after its very first concert, in November 1900, the ensemble dipped its toes into the touring pool by performing in nearby Reading. Over the next 27 years the boundaries gradually expanded to include such metropolises as New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, and Detroit, as well as smaller cities such as Lima (OH), Meriden (CT), North Adams (MA), and Ypsilanti (MI). Ryan Fleur Then, from April to May 1936, under Leopold Stokowski’s baton, the Orchestra undertook a mammoth transcontinental train tour, traveling 11,000 miles and performing 33 concerts in 30 days. Since then the Fabulous Philadelphians have become one of the most widely traveled orchestras in the world, performing across America, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Asia, and South America. This spring the Orchestra returns to Europe, 69 years after its first time (and 70 years after the implementation of the Marshall Plan), a voyage by boat to Great Britain consisting of 28 concerts in 27 days. The 2018 Tour brings the Philadelphia Sound to devoted fans in Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris (a debut performance at the Jean Nouvel-designed Philharmonie Matthew Loden de Paris), Düsseldorf, Hamburg (a debut performance at the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Elbphilharmonie), and Vienna. Following the two concerts in Vienna, the Orchestra continues to Israel, with performances in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, all in celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary.
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