Soloists for the tour are violinist Gil Shaham, soprano Deborah Voigt, violist Cynthia Phelps, cellists Carter Brey and Jan Vogler, pianists Lang Lang and Margarita H‹henrieder, and contralto Anna Larsson.

The first part of the tour opens in Frankfurt, Germany, with a performance at the Alte Oper of Dvoršk's Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World"), and Strauss's Don Juan and Der Rosenkavalier Suite. From there the orchestra travels to Baden-Baden; Lucerne, Switzerland; Essen; Bonn; Braunschweig; and Berlin, where the tour closes with Berg's Seven Early Songs, with Voigt, and Mahler's Symphony No. 5.

The tour's second part opens in Brussels, Belgium, with Weber's Euryanthe Overture, Strauss's Death and Transfiguration, and the Dvoršk Ninth Symphony. This part of the tour, which includes dates in Amsterdam; D‹sseldorf, Luxembourg, and Munich, also features three concerts in Dresden's Frauenkirche, which was destroyed by Allied firebombing in World War II, and has been recently renovated and will be reconsecrated in October. The November 17 program in Dresden includes the world premiere of Colin Matthews' Berceuse for Dresden, with Vogler playing the solo part.

Matthews' work will have its U.S. premiere November 25-26 at Avery Fisher Hall.

The Phiharmonic's first European tour took place in 1930, with Arturo Toscanini conducting.