DHL supports Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on its tour of Europe and Asia

October 27, 2017: DHL Trade Fair & Events, a unit of DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, will once again be supporting the renowned Gewandhaus Orchestra in 2017 as Official Logistics Partner on its upcoming international concert tour.

The extensive tour, which will take the orchestra across Europe and Asia for 17 special concerts, debuted in London on October 22 and will play its finale on November 17 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 moves on to Festival Hall Baden-Baden tonight for the only concert of the current tour to be staged in Germany.

DHL has been taking care of logistics for the Gewandhaus Orchestra for over 10 years. Around six tonnes 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.

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 Gewandhaus Orchestra will also be accompanied by the Vienna Singverein concert choir.

Gregor Klammer, Product manager at DHL Trade Fairs and Events, a unit of DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, “They must get to their destination on time without being subject to any significant transport shock or fluctuations in temperature. If the valuable instruments are allowed to get too warm or too cold, they are susceptible to damage - a risk we avoid with the help of temperature-controlled transport containers. Often the instruments are required to change location on a daily basis. And on rest days, we bring the instruments to the musicians' hotel to allow them to practice.”