PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SPRING CONCERT CALENDAR
Manfred Honeck Leads the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Virtuoso Guests in Pittsburgh and in New York City
Just Announced: Program for Joshua Bell Concert in June
Star Vocalists Join the Orchestra for Two Remaining Pops Concerts
Fiddlesticks Family Concert Explores Music of Cartoons, Movies and Broadway
"Meet the PSO" Concert Will Benefit Wilkinsburg School District Music Programs
April 15, 2019
PLEASE NOTE: Individual tickets and subscription packages for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s 2018-2019 season and subscription packages for the 2019-2020 season are available at www.pittsburghsymphony.org, by calling 412.392.4900, and at the Heinz Hall Box Office, located at the corner of Sixth Street and 600 Penn Ave. in downtown Pittsburgh
All concerts are at Heinz Hall, unless otherwise noted.
PNC POPS: THE WONDERFUL MUSIC OF OZ
Friday, April 26, 2019
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Lawrence Loh, conductor
Scott Coulter, Law Dunford, Kelli Rabke, vocalists
John Boswell, pianist
Follow the yellow brick road to Heinz Hall as Larry Loh, the orchestra and three bewitching vocalists consider all things Oz! Showstoppers from The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, Wicked, and Oz-inspired Pop hits.
FIDDLESTICKS FAMILY CONCERT: LIGHTS, MUSIC, ACTION!
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Earl Lee, conductor
Major Curda, Tristan Hernandez, Katy Shackleton Williams, vocalists
Recommended for families with children ages three to eight, Fiddlesticks, our musical ambassador, and guest vocalist Katy Williams will guide you through a musical adventure with music composed especially for cartoons, movies and Broadway! Hear music by Dukas, Arlen, John Williams and more.
NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIP CONCERT: WILKINSBURG COMMUNITY CONCERT
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Earl Lee, conductor
Featuring Jennifer Steele, flute, and Gretchen Van Hoesen, harp
Location: Turner Intermediate School, 745 Wallace Ave., Wilkinsburg, 15221
For audiences of all ages, this lively program will feature individual players and explore the four different families of instruments in an orchestra. All proceeds from the ticket sales directly benefit the music programs in the Wilkinsburg School District. Tickets, available at the door, are $12 for adults and $5 for students.
BNY MGC 17: BEETHOVEN VIOLIN CONCERTO AND MAHLER’S THE SONG OF THE EARTH
Friday, May 10, 2019
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Manfred Honeck, Music Director
Vilde Frang, violin
Matthias Goerne, baritone
Eric Cutler, tenor
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 61
Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Two genius composers come head-to-head as Music Director Manfred Honeck conducts Beethoven and Mahler. Following her superb February 2018 PSO debut, Norwegian sensation Vilde Frang returns to Heinz Hall to perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, a stunning display for both soloist and orchestra. Baritone superstar Matthias Goerne and tenor Eric Cutler join Honeck for Mahler’s “Song of the Earth,” one of Mahler’s most powerful masterpieces.
PSO: 360
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Vilde Frang, violin
Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, oboe
Andrew Fuller, violin
Laura Fuller, viola
Kevin Lin, violin
Will Chow, cello
The Clarion Quartet (Jennifer Orchard,violin; Marta Krechkovsky, violin; Tatjana Mead Chamis, viola; and Bronwyn Banerdt, cello)
In PSO360's intimate sound space, you will experience the artistry of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians and their special guests up close—at the center of the sound, on the Heinz Hall stage.
Vilde Frang’s profound musicianship and exceptional lyricism have elevated her as one of the leading and most individual young artists of our time. Hailed as a “grandiose talent” and an “astoundingly expressive music interpreter,” Frang joins forces with the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in two brilliant Bach Concerti. Dazzling virtuoso duos are also highlighted throughout the evening including selections from Mozart and Kodály. The Clarion Quartet, comprised of musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, makes its PSO360 debut in Shostakovich’s striking String Quartet No. 7. It's a magnificent evening paying homage to the Golden Age of the Violin.
LINCOLN CENTER LAUNCH: SEND-OFF CONCERT
Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh
Friday, May 17, 2019
Manfred Honeck, Music Director
Till Fellner, piano
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 73, "Emperor"
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
Be there to wish Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra "Bon Voyage" as they perform their Lincoln Center Great Performers Series program first in Pittsburgh before heading to the Big Apple.
MANFRED HONECK AND THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
New York, New York
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Manfred Honeck, Music Director
Till Fellner, piano
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 73, "Emperor"
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
Conductor Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony, “one of the country’s hottest partnerships” (New York Times), bring a robust pairing of Beethoven and Mahler to David Geffen Hall. The celebrated Austrian pianist Till Fellner, known for his “Apollonian grace” (Boston Globe), joins for Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. Then, all attention is on the orchestra—especially its blazing brass section—for Mahler’s exhilarating, luminous Fifth Symphony.
BNY MGC 18: TCHAIKOVSKY'S FOURTH
Friday, May 31, 2019
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Sunday, June 2, 2019
*Pietari Inkinen, conductor
*Beatrice Rana, piano
Jean Sibelius: Pohjola's Daughter, Opus 49 *PSO Premiere*
Sergei Prokofiev: Concerto No. 3 in C major for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 26
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Opus 36
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra hosts a highly anticipated double debut. Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen leads the first PSO performance of Pohjola’s Daughter by fellow countryman Jean Sibelius. Virtuoso Italian pianist Beatrice Rana, lauded by The Los Angeles Times as a “commanding” pianist with “innate musicality,” joins Inkinen on Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. The PSO rounds out the program with Tchaikovsky’s mighty Symphony No. 4, a true symphonic tour-de-force!
BNY MGC 19: BEETHOVEN'S NINTH
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Friday, June 7, 2019
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Manfred Honeck, Music Director
Michael Rusinek, clarinet
Nancy Goeres, bassoon
Christina Landshamer, soprano
Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano
Werner Güra, tenor
*Shenyang, bass baritone
Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh
Jonathan Leshnoff: DOUBLE CONCERTO *PSO Commission and World Premiere *RECORDING
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, "Choral" *RECORDING
Hear, live in Heinz Hall, the epic, timeless message of humanity and brotherhood when Manfred Honeck leads the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and a superstar cast of soloists in Beethoven’s uplifting and monumental Ninth Symphony, “Ode to Joy”. The concert begins with a world premiere performance of leading American composer Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, featuring the extraordinary talents of our own Principal Clarinet Michael Rusinek and Principal Bassoon Nancy Goeres. Be a part of the live audience this weekend as Manfred Honeck and the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra commit these works to high-definition sound.
BNY MGC 20: IGOR LEVIT PLAYS MOZART
Friday, June 14, 2019
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Manfred Honeck, Music Director
Igor Levit, piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto No. 21 in C major for Piano and Orchestra, K. 467
Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, Opus 64
Igor Levit makes his long-anticipated Pittsburgh debut with a performance of Mozart’s beloved Piano Concerto No. 21, “Elvira Madigan.” Manfred Honeck marshals the full forces of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (plus cowbells, a wind machine, and thunder sheet!) for Richard Strauss’s Alpine Symphony, depicting the magical experience of climbing an Alpine mountain from dawn until sunset. Be there for this larger-than-life conclusion to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s magnificent 18/19 season!
SPECIAL CONCERT: JOSHUA BELL
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Manfred Honeck, Music Director
Joshua Bell, violin
Dvořák: Violin Concerto
Dvořák: Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 7
Dvořák: "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 5
Bizet: Carmen Suite
Ravel: Tzigane
“A thoroughly serious, intelligent musician,” raves the Financial Times of London. The Boston Herald declares his playing is “direct, honest and a joy to hear.” Audiences around the globe have cheered the phenomenal Joshua Bell. Experience his extraordinary artistry in concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck- one night only! Enjoy this special, tour de force evening with superstar Bell as he performs some of the most virtuosic and dazzling works of the repertoire. From Dvorak's dramatic Violin Concerto, to Ravel's fiery, gypsy-inspired Tzigane, it is a not-to-be missed performance!
PNC POPS: NATALIE & NAT KING COLE: An Unforgettable Centennial Salute
June 21-23, 2019
Byron Stripling, conductor
Denzal Sinclair and Dee Daniels, vocalists
The voice: so smooth, so clear, so cool. The hits: so many – "Too Young,” "Nature Boy,” "Get Your Kicks,” "Mona Lisa" and many, many more. Conductor Byron Stripling is joined by Denzal Sinclaire and Dee Daniels for this tribute to Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole. It's guaranteed to be "Unforgettable."
SPONSORS
The Pittsburgh Symphony would like to recognize and thank its generous sponsors for support of its work year-round.
BNY Mellon Grand Classics are made possible by title sponsorship support from BNY Mellon. Fairmont Pittsburgh is the official hotel of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
The PSO360 concerts are made possible by series sponsorship support from Cohen & Grigsby.
PNC Pops concerts are made possible by title sponsorship support from PNC and additional support from the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.
Fiddlesticks Family Concerts are made possible by support from Clearview Federal Credit Union and are endowed by Gerald and Audrey McGinnis, honoring the Center for Young Musicians.
Pittsburgh Symphony Learning & Community Engagement programs like the Neighborhood Partnership in Wilkinsburg, are supported by generous grants from Lincoln Learning Solutions, The Jack Buncher Foundation, the Allegheny Regional Asset District and the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.
About the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Over the last quarter century, MANFRED HONECK has firmly established himself as one of the world's leading conductors, renowned for his distinctive interpretations and arrangements of a wide-range of repertoire. For more than a decade, Honeck has served as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, continuing a great legacy of music-making that is celebrated at home, abroad and on recordings, including the 2018 Grammy Award for Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 and Barber's Adagio for Strings. Since 2008, Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have served as cultural ambassadors for the city as one of the most frequently toured American orchestras. In addition to performing at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, the orchestra regularly performs in major European music capitals and at leading festivals such as the Beethovenfest Bonn, BBC Proms, Musikfest Berlin, Lucerne Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Grafenegg Festival and the Salzburg Festival, and continues a close relationship with the Musikverein in Vienna. The PSO and Honeck return to Lincoln Center in May 2019 and their next European tour takes place in fall 2019. Under Honeck's leadership of the Pittsburgh Symphony, he instituted a new initiative to preserve the orchestra's celebrated sound, resulting in more than a dozen recordings on the Reference and Exton labels. Together, Honeck and the PSO have recorded symphonies by Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvořák, Mahler, and Tchaikovsky, as well as Strauss tone poems. They have received critical acclaim and honors from around the world, including the "Best Orchestral Performance" Grammy Award in 2018, along with two other Grammy nominations. Honeck has conceived of and conducted several large-scale or operatic works as semi-staged productions for the concert hall, including Handel's Messiah, Haydn's The Creation, and later this season in Pittsburgh he will lead performances of Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. Beyond the podium, he has conceptualized and arranged a number of staged works into symphonic "Fantasies" or "Suites," among them Janáček's Jenůfa (Grammy nominated), Strauss's Elektra, Dvořák's Rusalka, and Tchaikovsky's ballet Sleeping Beauty, which he frequently programs on concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, at home and on tour, as well as with orchestras throughout the United States and abroad.
As a guest conductor, Honeck is a regular guest with all of the major American orchestras, including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. He continues to appear in the world's leading concert halls and festivals, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome, Vienna Philharmonic, and the Verbier Festival. He served as Music Director of the Staatsoper Stuttgart from 2007 to 2011, and has led operatic performances at Komische Oper Berlin, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Royal Opera of Copenhagen, Salzburg Festival, Semperoper Dresden and the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. Born in Austria, Honeck received his musical training at the Academy of Music in Vienna. He was a member of the viola section of the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Orchestra for eight years. Transitioning to conducting, he began his career as an assistant to Claudio Abbado, and as artistic leader of the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra. He received the prestigious European Conductor's Award in 1993 at the Zurich Opera House, and has served as Music Director of the Norwegian National Opera, Principal Guest Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and most recently as Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Honeck also has served as Artistic Director of the International Concerts Wolfegg in Germany for more than twenty years.Manfred Honeck has received honorary doctorates from several North American universities. Most recently, he was awarded the honorary title of Professor by the Austrian Federal President. An international jury of critics selected him as the International Classical Music Awards "Artist of the Year" 2018.
The PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, known for its artistic excellence for more than 120 years, is credited with a rich history of the world's finest conductors and musicians, and a strong commitment to the Pittsburgh region and its citizens. Past music directors have included Fritz Reiner (1938-1948), William Steinberg (1952-1976), André Previn (1976-1984), Lorin Maazel (1984-1996) and Mariss Jansons (1995-2004). This tradition of outstanding international music directors was furthered in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony. The orchestra has been at the forefront of championing new American works, and gave the first performance of Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" in 1944 and John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine in 1986. The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. Its "Pittsburgh Live!" series with Reference Recordings has resulted in back-to-back Grammy Award nominations in 2015 and 2016. As early as 1936, the Pittsburgh Symphony broadcast on the airwaves coast-to-coast and in the late 1970s it made the ground breaking PBS series "Previn and the Pittsburgh." The orchestra has received increased national attention since 1982 through network radio broadcasts on Public Radio International, produced by Classical WQED-FM 89.3, made possible by the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. With a long and distinguished history of touring both domestically and overseas since 1900 — including international tours to Europe, the Far East and South America—the Pittsburgh Symphony continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world's greatest orchestras.
About Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts
HEINZ HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Symphony, Inc., a non-profit organization, and is the year-round home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The cornerstone of Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Heinz Hall hosts many events that do not feature its world-renowned Orchestra including Broadway shows, popular touring artists, comedians, speakers and much more. For a full calendar of upcoming non-symphony events at the hall, visit heinzhall.org.
Media Contacts
Julie Goetz | Director of Communications
jgoetz@pittsburghsymphony.org | 412.392.4866