Report:  Two-week trek through Asia, Jan. 25-Feb. 7, to include first visits to Taiwan and South Korea as well as several concerts in China.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has announced plans for its first visit to Mexico and its seventh tour of Asia in 2012-13. It will be the orchestra’s first trek to the Far East under music director Riccardo Muti.

Two concerts are scheduled for Mexico, at the Teatro Juárez in Guanajuato on Oct. 8 and at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City on Oct. 10. Both concerts will offer Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major (“Italian”) and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D major.

The two-week Asian tour Jan. 25-Feb. 7 marks the CSO’s first trip to the Far East since a 2009 swing with conductor Bernard Haitink. Muti’s programming for Asia centers on core masterworks for orchestra – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major (“Eroica”), Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor.

From a strictly architectural standpoint, the Asian tour will find the CSO playing in a series of spectacular venues. (See photos below.) First up, Muti and company will make their Taiwan debut with two concerts at the National Concert Hall (Jan. 25-26). Two performances follow at the Hong Kong Cultural Center (Jan. 28-29). The CSO then moves on to the Oriental Art Centre in Shanghai (Jan. 31) and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing (Feb. 3).

The orchestra’s final concert in China takes place Feb. 4 at the newly opened Tianjin Grand Theatre in Tianjin, the country’s largest northern seaport located about a half-hour from Beijing by high-speed train.

Two days later, the CSO makes its first ever appearance in Seoul, South Korea, giving performances Feb. 6 and 7 at the Seoul Arts Center.

The trip to Mexico follows closely on the heels of the CSO’s three-night stand Oct. 3-5 to open the season for New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Under Muti’s baton, opening night will reprise a highlight of this season’s series at Orchestra Hall – Carl Orff’s cantata “Carmina Burana,” with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Chicago Children’s Chorus.

Franck’s Symphony in D minor and the New York premiere of Mason Bate’s “Alternative Energy” are programmed for the second Carnegie concert, and the final night will feature Dvorak’s Symphony No. 5 in F major along with Respighi’s “Feste romane.” – Lawrence B. Johnson and Nancy Malitz

Related Link:

• Repertoire breakdown by city: Check concert details at the CSO website
• Chicago On the Aisle previews the CSO’s 2012-13 season at Orchestra Hall: Read it here

Photo captions and credits:  Above: Riccardo Muti. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg) Below from top: Teatro Juárez, Guanajuato, Mexico; Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico;  National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong; Oriental Art Center, Shanghai, China; National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China; Tianjin Grand Theatre, Tianjin, China; Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, South Korea.

Tags: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti