Published: Thursday June 4, 2009 MYT 3:10:00 PM
New York Philharmonic leaders visit Hanoi
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - The incoming and outgoing directors of the New York Philharmonic paid a visit to Hanoi on Thursday to prepare for the orchestra's Vietnam debut in October.
The philharmonic will play two concerts in Hanoi as part of an Asian tour that will also include stops in Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore. It will be the orchestra's first international tour under the leadership of Alan Gilbert, who takes over from outgoing director Zarin Mehta in September.
"To be able to play for a new music public and be able to capitalize on the warmth and friendship that is so clearly developing here between our two countries is really a marvelous thing," Gilbert said Thursday.
Gilbert spoke to reporters shortly before going on a tour of Hanoi's historic opera house, where the philharmonic is scheduled to play on Oct. 16 and 17. The philharmonic is planning a live broadcast of the concerts.
"Partly because I'm half-Japanese, but mainly because I love the area, it means a lot that my first tour will be in Asia," Gilbert said.
One of the most traveled orchestras in the world, the New York Philharmonic has visited 59 countries during its history.
"Vietnam will make 60," Mehta said.
The repertoire for the orchestra's Asian Horizons tour will include works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Mozart. - AP
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