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BERLIN, Nov 1 (AFP) - The world-famous Berlin Philharmonic and its chief conductor Sir Simon Rattle were scheduled to begin a three-week tour in Asia this week, the orchestra announced on Tuesday.
The tour, starting Wednesday, would take Germany's best-known orchestra to Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo, with two concerts to be given in each city, the Berlin Philharmonic said.
It was to be the first time ever that the orchestra would perform in Taipei and only the second time that it has appeared in Beijing -- the last time was in 1979 under the Berlin Philharmonic's late legendary maestro, Herbert von Karajan.
On the programme were to be works by Haydn, Beethoven, Berlioz, Richard Strauss, Ravel and the contemporary British composer, Thomas Ades, whose works Rattle has long championed.
"We hope that the programme will reflect the scope and range of this magnificent orchestra," Rattle said.
The tour was to be accompanied and filmed by the film team that had made the critically acclaimed documentary, "Rhythm is it", about a community outreach dance project that brought the orchestra and hundreds of Berlin schoolchildren together in a performance of Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rite of Spring).
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