2007-08 opened with two first-class British orchestras appearing at Bonn’s Beethovenfest: the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Intermusica’s own Martyn Brabbins and Viviane Hagner and the Philharmonia Orchestra with Sir Andrew Davis. The latter were joined for the opening concert by soloist Leonidas Kavakos who also toured elsewhere in the season as Artistic Director with his own Camerata Salzburg to the Stresa Festival in Italy and for residency concerts at Athens’ Megaron Concert Hall. Intermusica and Kavakos returned to his home city later in the Spring for concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev as part of a new long-term partnership for the Orchestra at the Megaron. Their residency at Salle Pleyel, Paris also continued to thrive, giving concerts with Chief Conductor Valery Gergiev, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Maria João Pires, Bernard Haitink and Kristjan Järvi.

Elsewhere in Europe, Intermusica travelled to Spain for two extensive tours with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Lawrence Foster and Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda and Hilary Hahn (as part of our exclusive touring relationship with the Orchestra). The Rotterdam Philharmonic and BBC National Orchestra of Wales appeared at Prague’s Autumn Festival with Valery Gergiev and Thierry Fischer respectively. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra toured to France and Rotterdam with Marin Alsop and the Orchestre National de Toulouse gave an 8-concert tour of Germany including Frankfurt, Köln and Stuttgart.

Intermusica continued its strong presence in the Far East throughout the season with: the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Ivàn Fischer’s trio of inaugural residency concerts at Suzhou’s new Science & Cultural Art Centre; Taipei’s Chang-Kai Shek 20th anniversary gala concerts given by Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; a 12-concert tour of Japan and South Korea for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda; the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus in Kuala Lumpur with Simon Halsey, Martyn Brabbins and the Malaysian Philharmonic; and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra’s debut concerts in South Korea.

At home in the UK, Intermusica was delighted to tour the Orchestre National de France with Kurt Masur (Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow) ; the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Marek Janowski (Sage Gateshead, Birmingham, Manchester and the Barbican); the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Ivàn Fischer (Royal Festival Hall); and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig with Riccardo Chailly (Glasgow and the Barbican). The latter formed part of a broader European tour which included La Scala, Vienna and the Salle Pleyel in Paris, where the Orchestra and Chailly continue their three-year relationship.