The Philadelphia Orchestra cancels another tour — this time in California

The Philadelphia Orchestra has canceled another tour.

Four California concerts in March of 2024 previously announced by presenters there will not happen, the orchestra said Thursday.

The concerts, which were to have been led by principal guest conductor Nathalie Stutzmann, were canceled because of “logistical challenges” and “recent significant increases in cargo and travel costs,” said orchestra spokesperson Ashley Berke. The concerts were “no longer financially viable,” she said.

Tickets to one Philadelphia Orchestra California concert had already been sold to about 300 households by subscription, said Thor Steingraber, executive and artistic director of the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, or “the Soraya,” where the orchestra was booked to perform an all-Beethoven concert March 7, 2024. Single tickets were set to go on sale next week.

“We are a little perplexed and disappointed,” said Steingraber. “Every single touring orchestra from the Israel Philharmonic to orchestras in Europe, and all over the world, have the same cargo costs from the moment they commit to the tour right on through the performances themselves.”

Steingraber said there was no opportunity to discuss the fate of the concert with the orchestra before the decision was made. He said he hadn’t learned of the cancellation from the orchestra directly, but from an agent for the tour.

Berke said the orchestra’s “team had been working around the clock to try to make this work,” so the tour could be saved. But the concerts were scheduled closely together — March 5, 6, 7, and 8 — and, in addition to the recent increased costs, the tour brought “tricky travel challenges,” she said.

The concerts were to have featured pianist Haochen Zhang as soloist. Stutzmann began a three-year contract as the orchestra’s principal guest conductor in the 2021-22 season.

In the fall, the orchestra announced that a three-week tour of China planned for this past May had been scrapped. The visit was meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the orchestra’s historic 1973 visit to China — the first by an American orchestra. That tour was canceled because COVID-19 protocols in the country could have forced it to leave behind members of the tour party, the orchestra said at the time.

The California concerts were slated at the Soraya in Los Angeles; the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa; the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara; and the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert.

Berke said that touring will continue. Presenters have already announced spring concerts led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan and performances in Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa.

“The Philadelphia Orchestra has had a long and distinguished touring history that will continue, as we connect with people throughout the world through music,” said Berke. “We are looking forward to our upcoming tours and to rescheduling the California trip.”