The 49th foreign tour of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra on May 9-19 took in eight concerts in Austria, the Netherlands and Germany. Wielding the baton was the HPO?s Chief Conductor Leif Segerstam and the alternating soloists were top international violinists Christian Tetzlaff and Baiba Skride in the concertos by Tchaikovsky and Sibelius and the violin concerto no. 1 by Szymanowski. The opening numbers were Rautavaara?s Cantus arcticus and Sibelius?s Karelia Suite. The guest concerts by the HPO were given in challenging international gala and festival series and in such ?tough? company as the New York Philharmonic in Vienna. The tour attracted a total audience of 12,500 and 90 per cent of the tickets were on average sold. Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
