This month saw the Orchestra go on a whistle-stop tour to Germany and Austria, stopping off in Vienna, Hamburg, Hannover, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Freiburg and Frankfurt to a warm welcome from packed audiences. Music Director Vasily Petrenko conducted performances with star violinist Julia Fischer.
Scroll down to see what we got up to on the trip.
Vienna, Thursday 30 January
Our first stop was the Vienna Konzerthaus, where in the first half we performed Mussorgsky's Night on the Bare Mountain, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra.
Photo © Tom Philpott
Our Principal Cor Anglais, Patrick Flanghan, got to do some sightseeing and visited the Wiener Riesenrad.
Hamburg, Friday 1 February
The following day we returned to the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, in a concert opening with Dvořák’s rumbustious Carnival Overture, before Julia played Sibelius' Violin Concerto.
Photo © Sali-Wyn Ryan
Photo © Tom Philpott
RPO Principal Harp Suzy Willison-Kawalec and Daniel de Fry © Sali-Wyn Ryan
Hannover, Saturday 1 February
The next day we performed in Kuppelsaal, Hannover, concluding with Brahms' majestic Symphony No.1. For an encore we performed Arthur Sullivan's The Chieftain.
Photo © Sali-Wyn Ryan
Photo © Sali-Wyn Ryan
Cologne, Sunday 2 February
Next, we continued to the Cologne Philharmonie, highlighting a performance of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto by Julia Fischer. After Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, we performed Brahms' Hungarian Dance No.5 to cap off the evening.
Photo © Tom Philpott
Some of our tours and Concerts team outside Cologne Cathedral.
Munich, Tuesday 4 February
We moved on to Munich's stunning Isarphilharmonie on Tuesday, since last appearing there with Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason in 2023.
Photo © Tom Philpott
"The concert evening on February 4, 2025 in Munich's Isarphilharmonie was, in one word, "perfect". The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko gave a symphony concert in the best sense of the word." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bachtrack
"The musicians revealed the beauty of Brahms' symphony in the overall sound, but also in perfectly designed solo passages of the clarinet, the transverse flute and the brass, which exuded the chorale passage at the beginning of the fourth movement warmly and roundly, before the horns presented their wonderful solos."
Stuttgart, Thursday 6 February
We then travelled to Stuttgart's Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Liederhalle, where we performed Brahms' Symphony No.1, with Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours making for an exquisite encore.
Photo © Sali-Wyn Ryan
Mannheim, Friday 7 February
Before we performed in a packed Rosengarten in Mannheim, some players and staff found time in the morning for a quick parkrun!
Getting the RPO on the leaderboard in the Neckarau.
Photo © Adriana Iacovache-Pana
Our encore in the Rosengarten was Johan Strauss II's waltz Seid umschlungen, Millionen.
Freiburg, Saturday 8 February
After our appearance at the Konzerthaus in Freiburg for our penultimate concert of the tour, our First Violins enjoyed a well-deserved wind-down at a local bar.
Photo © Adriana Iacovache-Pana
Frankfurt, Sunday 9 February
Our firework finale to the tour was in Frankfurt's Alte Oper.
Photo © Adriana Iacovache-Pana
"Petrenko played the work very theatrically, slowing down here, speeding up there, a compelling performance. As if from another world, the solos of the clarinet and flute provided peaceful delights." Online Merker
"In the Presto finale, Fischer finally revealed the full brilliance of her playing. She swept the audience along with a springy lightness, her bowing technique was spectacular without ever losing the sound line. The rhythmic precision and dance-like momentum that she brought to this challenging movement showed an artist at the peak of her creativity."
"The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra swept through the movement with an explosive energy that combined technical mastery and musical passion. The magnificent playing of the large string section was downright sensational in its virtuosity."
The double basses of the Orchestra
Our incomparable cellos
The Second Violins had some help from Julia playing Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra!
Thank you to everyone who made this tour possible, and to all the audiences who came to support us.