Philharmonic music director Lorin Maazel will conduct most of the Asia concerts; Xian Zhang, the orchestra's Associate Conductor, will share the podium with Maazel for one program in Hong Kong and will host one of the orchestra's signature Young People's Concerts in the city. Soloists appearing on the tour include cellist Alisa Weilerstein (giving one performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto in Hong Kong) as well as three Philharmonic stars: principal horn Philip Myers, principal oboe Liang Wang and concertmaster Glenn Dicterow. Repertoire includes overtures by Mozart, Beethoven and Rossini; concertos by Mozart (horn), Barber (violin) and Richard Strauss (oboe); and symphonies by Mendelssohn (Fourth), Dvoršk (Seventh), Brahms (Fourth) and Tchaikovsky (Sixth).

As for the widely reported invitation to the New York Philharmonic from the government of North Korea to give the first performance ever by an American orchestra in the country, the tour itinerary released yesterday did not include any appearances there. The Philharmonic's chief spokesperson told Playbill Arts this evening that orchestra management does not expect to have any comment on the matter for several weeks. (The possibility of a Philharmonic concert in North Korea continues to attract considerable attention in the media, with opinion columns on the subject appearing recently in The Wall Street Journal and on The New York Times op-ed page.)

The tour schedule is given below. More information is available at the New York Philharmonic's website, www.nyphil.org — where the orchestra will offer a Virutal Tour beginning on February 11, regularly updated reports and photos from the various cities on the itinerary.

New York Philharmonic 2008 Asia Tour

• February 11 - National Concert Hall, Taipei
• February 12 - National Concert Hall, Taipei
• February 13 - Kaohsiung Cultural Center
• February 15 - Hong Kong Cultural Centre
• February 16 - Hong Kong Cultural Centre
• February 17 - Hong Kong Cultural Centre - Young People's Concert
• February 18 - Hong Kong Cultural Centre
• February 20 - Shanghai Grand Theatre
• February 21 - Shanghai Grand Theatre
• February 23 - National Grand Theater, Beijing
• February 24 - National Grand Theater, Beijing