DHL supports Gewandhausorchester Leipzig on its tour of Europe and Asia

DHL Trade Fair & Events, a unit of DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, is once again supporting the renowned Gewandhausorchester in 2017 as Official Logistics Partner on its current international concert tour.

The extensive tour, which is taking the orchestra across Europe and Asia for 17 special concerts, debuted in London on October 22 and will play its finale on 17 November in Taipei — all in honor of the 90th birthday of Herbert Blomstedt, the orchestra’s honorary conductor. Following guest performances in London, Paris and Luxembourg, the orchestra will perform in Japan (Sapporo, Yokohama and Tokyo) from 7 to 13 November, and Taipei, Taiwan from 16 – 17 November.

The tour’s concert repertoire will comprise works premiered by the Gewandhausorchester over the course of its 275-year history in Leipzig. A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E major, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major are just a selection of the masterpieces audiences will be treated to during the 27-day tour.

The orchestra will play five different concert variations over the course of the tour, which will include no fewer than four concerts in Vienna and three in Tokyo. The tour’s soloists are Leonidas Kavakos (violin), Gautier Capuçon (violoncello), Kirill Gerstein (piano), Genia Kühmeier (soprano) and Michael Nagy (baritone), and the Gewandhausorchester will also be accompanied by the Vienna Singverein concert choir.

DHL has been taking care of logistics for the Gewandhausorchester for over 10 years. Concert logistics demands a substantial amount of expertise: Around six tons of freight must be transported from one venue to the next not only securely but on time — often from one day to the next.

The orchestra’s cargo includes over one hundred valuable musical instruments. Not only are the individual items highly sensitive to their environment but some are one-of-a-kind pieces that cannot be replaced. In order to protect the instruments from damage, they are transported in temperature-controlled containers which keep the contents at a constant 18-20°C.

Charles Kaufmann, CEO, North Asia; Managing Director, Japan; and Head, Value Added Services, Asia Pacific, DHL Global Forwarding is honored to be working with the Gewandhausorchester yet again: “The logistics behind the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig tour involves more than a hundred precious and delicate equipment that are worth three million euros. The transportation of such sensitive instruments in North Asia alone — consisting of four different cities in 11 days with very quick turnaround times — requires meticulous planning and effective coordination throughout the entire transport chain, and we are honored that Gewandhausorchester has entrusted us with this responsibility.”

Over and above this, DHL also takes care of the transportation of music stands, wardrobe items and everything else that the orchestra requires for the concert tour, not to mention performing all the necessary customs formalities.

DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry and is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. Our DHL family of divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management.

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