St. Paul Chamber Orchestra announces European tour

The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will tour five European Cities in November. The tour, announced Thursday morning, is the ensemble's first visit to Europe since 2008.

SPCO President Jon Limbacher said there's European demand for the orchestra because of its quality, and because it's now playing as a musician-led, unconducted ensemble.

"That's a major shift artistically," he said. "And the fact that we are now able to go to Europe and feature this unconducted approach is really an indication of how important it is and how successful it's been."

The SPCO will play in Rome, Siena and Bologna, Italy; Berlin, Germany, and Vienna, Austria.

Limbacher says planning a tour is like solving a puzzle.

"You start with Berlin and Vienna," he said. "Those are iconic musical cities, and once you are there, then it makes a lot of sense also to include Italy."

Violinist and SPCO Artistic Partner Patricia Kopatchinskaja will appear on the tour playing Schubert's "Death and the Maiden Quartet" in an arrangement developed in collaboration with the SPCO.

Limbacher described Kopatchinskaja as "fantastic."

"The orchestra and Patricia have formed this wonderful partnership that is really exciting for the orchestra. I think it's exciting for Patricia and I think it's exciting for audiences," he said.

Kopatchinskaja will also be performing the opening concerts of the SPCO season in the Twin Cities beginning this weekend.

Limbacher said top-flight musicians often say touring to places such as Europe makes an ensemble play even better, and he believes this will be true of the SPCO.

"I like to say that we go to Europe in order to give even better concerts here in the Twin Cities," he said.