September 26, 27 & 28, 2008

Manfred Honeck, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin

Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Mahler: Symphony No. 1, “Titan”

A star-studded season opener with new Music Director Manfred Honeck! Enjoy Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell. Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine is a pounding thriller. Mahler’s moving Symphony No. 1 depicts the awakening of nature.

October 24, 25, & 26, 2008

Marek Janowski, conductor
Arabella Steinbacher, violin

Bruch: Scottish Fantasy
Berlioz: King Lear Overture
Strauss: Macbeth

European star Arabella Steinbacher debuts with Bruch’s beautiful Scottish Fantasy, a four-movement concerto based on Scottish folk melodies originally composed for violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. Two important works by Shakespeare are brought to musical life by Berlioz and Strauss.

December 5 & 6, 2008

Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Time for Three, string trio

Bernstein: West Side Story Symphonic Dances
Higdon: Concerto 4-3 (co-commission)
Copland: Symphony No. 3

Enjoy Bernstein’s famous orchestral version of his musical West Side Story. The highly energetic and dynamic string trio Time for Three bring their classically trained and blue grass inspired style to the PSO, in a piece co-commissioned with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Wheeling Symphony. Leonard Slatkin performs his signature piece, Copland’s Symphony No. 3, which includes the recognizable theme from the Fanfare for the Common Man.

January 30 & 31, 2009

Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
Orion Weiss, piano

Sibelius: The Swan of Tuonela
Grieg: Piano Concerto
Ravel: Trio (orch. Tortelier)
Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Dukas’ famous The Sorcerer’s Apprentice tells the musical tale of an apprentice who enchants a broomstick to do his chores. However, he soon loses control of his magical broomstick until the sorcerer returns home to save the day. The Swan of Tuonela is a rarely performed gem and Grieg’s only and very popular Piano Concerto flourishes under the expert hands of Orion Weiss.

February 20, 21 & 22, 2009

Manfred Honeck, conductor
Mojca Erdmann, soprano
Christopher Pfund, tenor
Hugh Russell, baritone
Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh

Haydn: Sinfonia concertante
Orff: Carmina burana

The vivacious musical masterpiece Carmina burana, one of the most popular works for large chorus, orchestra and soloists, has become so well-loved and iconic that we hear it all around us. In contrast, Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante is lighthearted with its pleasant melody and features PSO musicians.

April 3, 4 & 5, 2009

Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
Simon Trpceski, piano
Sergey Murzaev, baritone
Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh

Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Rachmaninoff: Spring Cantata
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1

The opening concert of a 3-week Rachmaninoff Festival features pianist Trpceski in the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, inspired by Caprice No. 24 composed by violin virtuoso Paganini. Rachmaninoff’s rare jewel Spring Cantata is performed for the first time by the PSO and his Symphony No. 1 pleases with its beautiful melodies.

April 30, May 1 & 2, 2009

Manfred Honeck, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano

Strauss: Death and Transfiguration
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

Manfred Honeck and Grammy Award-winning pianist Yefim Bronfman collaborate in Mozart’s Piano Concerto in c minor. Strauss’ stimulating tone poem shares the story of a young man who is struck by a terrible illness and struggles with his feelings about death. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 brings the concert to a triumphant ending.