Highlights
Happy Birthday Manfred Honeck!
Be there to celebrate Manfred’s 60th birthday! Pinchas Zukerman will play Bruch’s romantic First Violin Concerto. Manfred conducts Brahms’ lyrical Second Symphony. And Mason Bates has been commissioned to create a new work for the occasion. Be there for this opening weekend birthday party!
BERNSTEIN in PITTSBURGH
To mark the centennial of Leonard Bernstein’s birth, Manfred Honeck conducts a concert featuring works Bernstein himself conducted with the Pittsburgh Symphony early in his career: Works by Beethoven, Haydn and Stravinsky's Firebird. And Bernstein’s own First Symphony, which the Pittsburgh Symphony premiered in 1944.
The Planets – at 100!
Majestic in its scope. Dazzling in its sound. There is nothing to match the experience of hearing, live in concert, The Planets. Experience the ultimate trip through the galaxy as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs Gustav Holst’s sonic celestial showpiece as it turns 100!
The Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos
Wildly romantic. Searingly passionate. Such is the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Five renowned pianists tackle the complete cycle of the four Piano Concertos, and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Debuts by George Li, Inon Barnatan and Lukas Vondracek, plus the return of Behzod Abduraimov and Garrick Ohlsson.
BERLIOZ – The Damnation of Faust
A tale that has fascinated since tales began. The battle between desire and temptation. Between heaven and hell. Manfred Honeck leads Hector Berlioz’s sprawling dramatic legend The Damnation of Faust featuring the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.
Beethoven’s Ninth!
A not-to-be-missed concert experience. Hear, live in concert, the epic, timeless message of humanity and brotherhood when Manfred Honeck leads the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and superstar soloists in Beethoven’s inspiring and monumental “Ode to Joy”, the Ninth Symphony.
George Li plays Rachmaninoff (November 23-25, 2018.)
“I have seldom heard the many blazing octave passages in the outer movements played faster or more cleanly, let alone both at the same time...” The New York Times
Bertrand Chamayou plays Ravel (November 30-December 2, 2018)
“Technical wizardry,” raves The Guardian of London. “Chamayou is a remarkable musician, no question.”
Behzod Abduraimov plays Rachmaninoff (January 11-13, 2019)
“The cavernous roar from Abduraimov’s Steinway beggars belief,” reports The Times of London.
Inon Barnatan plays Rachmaninoff (January 25-27, 2019)
“Sensitive, always expressive,” said the San Francisco Chronicle of Inon Barnatan. “The audience cheered the performance to the rafters.”
Emanuel Ax plays Mozart (February 15-17, 2019)
The Washington Post describes the artistry of Emanuel Ax as “thoughtful, lyrical, lustrous…”
Lukas Vondracek plays Rachmaninoff (March 15-17, 2019)
“It comes as no surprise that this young musician is recognized as one of the greatest pianistic talents of our times...” Stuttgart Zeitung
Garrick Ohlsson plays Rachmaninoff (Apr 12 - Sun, Apr 14, 2019)
“It was beauty that emerged from the piano,” raved the Pittsburgh Tribune, “thanks, of course, to the Garrick Ohlsson’s integrity and sterling technique…”
Beatrice Rana plays Prokofiev (May 31-June 2, 2019)
“Possesses a soul that belies her years, and more than a touch of genius…” Gramophone Magazine
Igor Levit plays Mozart (June 14-16, 2019)
“One of the essential artists of his generation…” The New York Times