Brian Eno has announced his first-ever solo tour. He’s set to perform his new live concert program, Ships, across Europe this fall, with backing from the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, orchestrated and conducted by Kristjan Järvi, as well the actor Peter Serafinowicz, and Eno’s longtime collaborators Leo Abrahams and Peter Chilvers. The concert is billed as an orchestral adaptation of Eno’s 2016 album, The Ship, and will feature both new and classic compositions.
“The album The Ship is an unusual piece in that it uses voice but doesn’t particularly rely on the song form,” Eno said in a statement. “It’s an atmosphere with occasional characters drifting through it, characters lost in the vague space made by the music. There’s a sense of wartime in the background, and a sense of inevitability. There is also a sense of scale which suits an orchestra, and a sense of many people working together. I wanted an orchestra which played music the way I would like to play music: from the heart rather than just from the score. I wanted the players to be young and fresh and enthusiastic. When I first saw the Baltic Sea Philharmonic I found all that…and then noticed they were named after a sea. That sealed it!”
Eno’s last show was in 2021 at the Acropolis in Athens, where he performed with his brother Roger Eno. Last year, the composer returned with his first solo album in five years, FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE.
Brian Eno 2023 Tour Dates:
Oct 21 Venice, Italy – Venice Biennale Musica, Teatro la Fenice (3 and 8pm)
Oct 24 Berlin, Germany – Philharmonie Berlin
Oct 26 Paris, France – La Seine Musicale
Oct 28 Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg
Oct 30 London, England – Royal Festival Hall, Southbank (6:30 and 9pm)