Iran, Germany in orchestra swap

A German orchestra will play Beethoven and Brahms in Tehran in a rare visit by a European ensemble amid tension between Iran and the West.

The 60-member Osnabrueck Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Hermann Baeumer, will perform Wednesday and Thursday as part of an exchange that saw the Tehran Symphony Orchestra perform to a packed hall last year in Osnabrueck.

“It’s a very small step in improving relations between the people in the two countries,” said Michael Dreyer, head of Osnabrueck’s Morgenland Festival.