The Boston Symphony has canceled its European tour due to virus concerns.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra announced on Monday that it has canceled a four-city European tour due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in Europe and the United States.

The orchestra said the tour, which will include stops in Germany, Austria and France next month, was not possible due to the virus’ potential to disrupt travel. The orchestra recently reported an increase in cases among Tanglewood Festival Choir players and members.

“Given the continued presence of Covid, brought home by its unfortunate impact on a significant number of our own performers, we must make the health and safety of everyone involved with the Boston Symphony Orchestra our top priority.” Orchestra president and CEO Gail Samuel said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the only prudent and responsible action is to cancel the European tour, with deep regret.”

Many classical music ensembles hoped to continue global tours this year after the long hiatus brought by the pandemic. But the persistence of the Omicron variant continued to complicate the plans.

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra recently announced that it was canceling its June tour of Japan and South Korea due to virus concerns.

Orchestral tours are a staple of classical music dating back decades, when the largest ensembles in the United States and Europe began spearheading whistling visits to global capitals. In those days, tours served not only artistic purposes but also commercial purposes, opening up orchestras to new markets and sometimes lucrative sponsorships.

With the exception of a few elite ensembles, such as the Vienna Philharmonic, tours no longer make money as they used to. But they do give orchestras international prestige – an attractive prospect for donors – and give communities an opportunity to build rapport.

Overseas trips came to a halt at the start of the pandemic, when classical tours were one of the first sectors to be shut down. (At the end of January 2020, before disruptions caused by the coronavirus were widely felt in the United States, the Boston Symphony Canceling the Asia tour.)

Other communities have plans to go abroad in the coming months. The New York Philharmonic plans to take part as a guest artist at a festival to be held in Usedom, Germany, next month. The Philadelphia Orchestra is planning a European tour at the end of the summer.