Osmo Vänskä makes his first appearance at the Pacific Music Festival conducting the opening concert on 12 July.

The festive programme features music by Gounod, Beethoven, Bernstein and J. Strauss II, and opens with a fanfare by Tachihara, performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker Brass Ensemble and Festival participants.

The following evening Vänskä conducts the Festival orchestra in an all-Beethoven programme: Egmont Overture and Symphony No.9.

Vänskä returns to Asia and Australasia next season for concerts in Australia in November and China in March 2015.