ANDRIS NELSONS

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is embarking on a four-city tour of Japan next month, for its first overseas engagements since before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of cultural events around the world.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is sounding a somber note with a new season that will give musical expression to the horrors of war.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra has canceled its European tour because of an increase in positive coronavirus cases among orchestra members as well as concerns about the rising number of cases on both sides of the Atlantic.

The event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)If you're a fan of classical music, this is music to your ears: One of the nation's premier summer festivals is coming back after the coronavirus pandemic silenced it for the first time since World War II. Until last year, the live music had flowed virtually uninterrupted, canceled outright only in 1943 at the height of WWII. Ad“I am sure we will all experience music’s incredible power on a whole new level,” Andris Nelsons, the BSO's music director, said in a statement. This summer's festival will mark the orchestra's return to live performances for the first time since the pandemic forced what will be a 16-month hiatus.

FILE In this Nov. 20, 2014 file photo, Boston Symphony Orchestra music director Andris Nelsons rehearses with the orchestra at Symphony Hall, in Boston. Nelsons has reached agreement on contract extensions with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhausorchester of Leipzig, Germany, the parties announced on Monday, Oct. 5. With the three-year contract extension, Nelsons is to remain the BSO's music director through the the 2024-25 season. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)BOSTON – Conductor Andris Nelsons has reached agreement on contract extensions with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhausorchester of Leipzig, Germany, the parties announced on Monday. “When Andris Nelsons became BSO Music Director in 2014, we were keenly aware of the great musical gifts he would bring to the orchestra.