Season opening concert featuring pianist Alexander Toradze performing Tchaikovsky’s popular Piano Concerto No. 1 and Symphonie fantastique conducted by Principal Guest Conductor, Yan Pascal Tortelier

Yefim Bronfman performs Prokofiev’s powerful Piano Concerto No. 3

Superstar violinist Joshua Bell returns with Corigliano’s The Red Violin Concerto in a concert also featuring Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

Gil Shaham and Mendelssohn's virtuosic and melodic Violin Concerto

Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 expertly played by Garrick Ohlsson

Sir Andrew Davis leads Brahms' A German Requiem in the season finale

September 30, 2007

Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
Alexander Toradze, piano

CORIGLIANO: Promenade Overture
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1
BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique

Tchaikovsky’s romantic and show-stopping Piano Concerto No. 1 with Russian pianist Toradze and Berlioz’s sensual musical fantasy provide a grand beginning to the season.

October 21, 2007

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor
Nikolaj Znaider, violin
Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh
Betsy Burleigh, director

SIBELIUS: Violin Concerto
DEBUSSY: Three Nocturnes
RAVEL: Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloë

Sibelius’ soulful and impassioned concerto is followed by the luxurious pastel tones of Debussy’s Three Nocturnes and Ravel’s lush Suite from Daphnis et Chloë.

November 4, 2007

Marek Janowski, conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, cello

BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances Nos. 21, 17, 19, 18 (orch. Dvorák)
HAYDN: Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4

Endowed Guest Conductor Marek Janowski leads Brahms’ crowning achievement, his Symphony No. 4. Alisa Weilerstein performs one of Haydn’s cello showpieces.

November 11, 2007

Marek Janowski, conductor
Nikolai Lugansky, piano

BRAHMS: Symphony No. 3
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4
BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances Nos. 20 (orch. Dvorák), 10, 3, 1 (orch. Brahms)

Enjoy the genius of Brahms with his Symphony No. 3 and delightful Hungarian Dances. The music of Brahms’ idol, Beethoven, is featured with his Piano Concerto No.4, perhaps the most sublime of Beethoven’s five piano concertos.

November 25, 2007

Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano

RESPIGHI: Burlesque
PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 3
STRAVINSKY: The Firebird (complete)

Yefim Bronfman plays Prokofiev’s rhythmically brilliant and driving concerto and the orchestra will shine in Stravinsky’s scintillating ballet score.

December 9, 2007

Sir Andrew Davis, conductor
Anne Martindale Williams, cello

CORIGLIANO: Phantasmagoria
ELGAR: Cello Concerto
MOZART: Symphony No. 39

PSO Principal Cellist Anne Martindale Williams is featured in Elgar’s dramatic concerto and Sir Andrew Davis leads Mozart’s majestic Symphony No. 39.

January 13, 2008

Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin

BARBER: Essay No. 2
CORIGLIANO: The Red Violin Concerto
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)

Leonard Slatkin conducts violin superstar Joshua Bell in music by PSO Composer of the Year John Corigliano, made famous by the movie, The Red Violin. Mussorgsky’s well-loved Pictures brings a triumphant ending to the concert.

March 9, 2008

André Previn, conductor
Gretchen Van Hoesen, harp

COPLAND: Appalachian Spring Suite
PREVIN: Harp Concerto
(PSO commission & world premiere)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4

Previn brings his own Harp Concerto written for the PSO’s Gretchen Van Hoesen, and the concert includes beloved music of Copland and Beethoven’s moving Symphony No. 4.

April 13, 2008

Sir Andrew Davis, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin

KNUSSEN: Symphony
(co-commission & world premiere)
MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto
STRAUSS: Der Rosenkavalier Suite

Famed violinist Gil Shaham performs Mendelssohn’s lyrical concerto and Sir Andrew Davis leads your PSO in an audience favorite by Richard Strauss.

April 20, 2008

Sir Andrew Davis, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin

CORIGLIANO: Tournaments Overture
PROKOFIEV: Violin Concerto No. 2
Mystery Piece
ELGAR: Enigma Variations

The brilliant Kavakos performs Prokofiev’s fiery second concerto. Sir Andrew Davis conducts Elgar’s Enigma Variations…fourteen charming “musical portraits” of the composer’s friends.

May 11, 2008

Manfred Honeck, conductor
Michael Rusinek, clarinet

VERDI: La forza del destino Overture
FLETCHER: Clarinet Concerto
(PSO commission & world premiere)
STRAUSS: Ein Heldenleben

Incoming Music Director, Manfred Honeck returns to lead the orchestra in Strauss’ epic masterpiece, “A Hero’s Life.” PSO Principal Clarinetist, Michael Rusinek, performs a new concerto, commissioned by the PSO.

June 1, 2008

Pinchas Zukerman, conductor and violin
Benjamin Hochman, piano

MOZART: Overture to Così fan tutte
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major
MOZART: Serenade No. 7, “Haffner”

In an all-Mozart program Pinchas Zukerman conducts and performs four movements from the celebratory “Haffner” Serenade and Benjamin Hochman plays his exquisite Piano Concerto No. 17.

June 8, 2008

Louis Langrée, conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano

MOZART: Overture to La clemenza di Tito
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 11, “The Year 1905”

Garrick Ohlsson performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20. Guest conductor Louis Langrée makes his PSO debut in Shostakovich Symphony No. 11, a musical depiction of Russian history.

June 15, 2008

Sir Andrew Davis, conductor
Nicole Cabell, soprano
Lucas Meachem, baritone
Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh
Betsy Burleigh, director

BRAHMS: A German Requiem

Brahms’ choral masterpiece is a Requiem for all humanity. This magnificent work led by Sir Andrew Davis brings a stirring and emotional close to the season.