Forty Years After Their First China Tour, Philadelphia Orchestra Sees Massive Change

Nine musicians on the Philadelphians’ current tour were also there for the band’s visit to the People’s Republic in 1973, the first by any U.S. symphonic ensemble. They tell David Patrick Stearns their memories of a China without skyscrapers, Madame Mao ordering a last-minute change in the program, and the Chairman’s fly-swatting quota.