Rick Steves is a very busy man. Perhaps the better word is dynamic. He rationed our interview to 15 minutes yet provided more content than many much longer conversations. PBS viewers have for years depended on his travel shows and his European art series. Travelers swear by his guidebooks and website. There’s even a phone app to help you self-guide your tour. And now he has yet another project which he takes around the country--Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey. He will join Christopher Zimmerman and the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra for a performance on March 29th at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts.
Rick Steves narrates the concert live as it sweeps through Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, England, Norway, France and the European Union itself. Each country featured in this multimedia “tour” is illustrated by excerpts from Steves’ PBS travel series. The show begins with an homage to the U.S. with “America the Beautiful,” and ends (if, as he says, “there is enough applause,”) with Steves himself conducting a Sousa march.
As you’ll hear in the following interview, Rick Steves has a rich musical background. In fact, he began his career as a travel and piano teacher! A born musician, he brings his contagious passion to this symphonic journey.
PBS PASSPORT
Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA+ and PBS Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.