The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's first international tour occurred in 1947 with concerts in Mexico, under the baton of Fritz Reiner. It has since toured internationally in every decade except the 1950s, presenting concerts in major music halls in Africa (Canary Islands), Asia, Australia, Europe, Puerto Rico and South America.
The list of renowned conductors who have toured with the orchestra are (in order, historically): Fritz Reiner, William Steinberg, Donald Johanos, André Previn, Eduardo Mata, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Herbert Blomstedt, Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Mariss Jansons, Gilbert Levine, Leonard Slatkin, Hans Graf and Manfred Honeck.
In 1964, the Pittsburgh Symphony, under the baton of William Steinberg, was chosen by the United States Department of State to represent the nation on an 80-day, 40-concert tour of 27 cities in 14 countries in Europe and the Middle East to engage artists in cultural diplomacy.
In 2004, the Pittsburgh Symphony, under the baton of Gilbert Levine, was the first American orchestra to perform before Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.
The 2026 European Tour (August 26-September 10) is the PSO's 45th international tour and Manfred Honeck's 14th with the orchestra; his first was a tour of Asia in 2009.
August 26-September 10
European Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Announced three-week tour of 13 concerts in six countries and nine cities, including two performances at Lucerne Festival, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Chopin and His Europe Festival in Warsaw, and the Salzburg Festival.
December 3
Carnegie Hall
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Return to Carnegie Hall, presented as part of Carnegie Hall's Great American Orchestras series, with pianist Seong-Jin Cho.
August 22-September 7
European Festivals Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Nine-city tour of Austria, Italy and Germany, beginning as the only American orchestra at the Salzburg Festival and concluding as the opening concert of the Vienna Konzerthaus 2024-25 season.
August 18-September 4
European Festivals Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Return to international touring, marking the PSO's 75th year of international tours. 11 concerts in Slovenia, Austria and Germany, beginning at the 70th Ljubljana Festival and concluding at Cologne Philharmonie.
October 25-November 8
25th European Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. 11 concerts in 10 cities across five countries, including Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels and Düsseldorf.
May 19
Lincoln Center Great Performers Series
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Return to Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall, following a Pittsburgh send-off concert at Heinz Hall.
August 25-September 9
European Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. The PSO's 24th European tour, to Germany, Austria, England, Switzerland and Romania. Included Rheingau Festival, Salzburg Festival, Grafenegg Festival, Lucerne Festival and the George Enescu Festival.
May 17-June 5
European Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. 14-concert European tour to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.
May 10
Spring for Music Festival, Carnegie Hall
Manfred Honeck, conductor. The PSO closed the 2014 Spring for Music Festival at Carnegie Hall with Mozart's Requiem: Mozart's Death in Words and Music.
August 29-September 14
European Festivals Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Concerts in Austria, Germany, France, Romania and Switzerland, including Grafenegg Festival, Musikfest Berlin, Beethoven Festival, George Enescu Festival and Lucerne Festival.
October 26-November 10
European Residency Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Concerts in Barcelona, Madrid, Vienna, Paris, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Luxembourg, including a four-concert residency at the Musikverein.
July 23-24
Lanaudière Festival
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Performances in Quebec, Canada.
August 22-September 12
European Festivals Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Concerts in Germany, Lithuania, Austria, Switzerland, England and France, including the Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Beethoven Festival, Musikfest Berlin, Grafenegg Festival, Lucerne Festival and the BBC Proms.
July 23-24
Lanaudière Festival
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Performances in Quebec, Canada.
May 12-30
European Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. Concerts in Basel, Stuttgart, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Prague, Dresden, Vienna, Budapest and Ljubljana.
September 12-20
European Festivals Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. First European tour with Honeck, with concerts for the Beethoven Festival and the close of the Lucerne Festival, plus concerts in Essen and Bonn.
May 11-21
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Asia Tour
Manfred Honeck, conductor. First international tour with Music Director Manfred Honeck. First trip to Beijing in 22 years and PSO debuts in Shanghai and Kaohsiung.
January, February
Pittsburgh 250 Ambassador Tour of Europe
Marek Janowski and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductors. The PSO kicked off the year-long celebration of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary, accompanied by the Allegheny Conference. Tour countries included Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Croatia.
August 22-September 6
European Tour
Leonard Slatkin and Hans Graf, conductors. Concerts in Greece, Ireland, Wales, England and Germany; the August 25 concert in Patras took place during the city's year as European Capital of Culture.
January 17
The Pontiff's Silver Jubilee Celebration
Gilbert Levine, conductor. First American orchestra to perform before Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Pope's election to the papacy.
August 16-31
Mellon Pittsburgh Symphony European Tour
Mariss Jansons, conductor. Jansons' last tour as PSO music director, with festival concerts in Lucerne, Salzburg, Stuttgart and at the London Proms.
March 31-April 14
Mellon Pittsburgh Symphony European Tour
Mariss Jansons, conductor. Sponsored by Mellon Financial Corporation with additional support from FreeMarkets. Cities included Valencia, Madrid, Vienna, Amsterdam and London.
February 18-March 9
Far East Tour
Mariss Jansons, conductor. Second trip to Japan under Jansons, and first PSO appearances in Malaysia and Australia.
June 3-23
South American Tour
Mariss Jansons, conductor. First PSO South American tour under Jansons, with concerts in Sao Paulo, Montevideo and Buenos Aires.
May 15-June 4
European Residency Tour
Mariss Jansons, conductor. 14 concerts in Madrid, Valencia, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, London and Birmingham.
August 12-September 5
European Festivals Tour
Mariss Jansons, conductor. First PSO European tour under Jansons. 15 concerts in 13 cities, including Dublin, Edinburgh, Salzburg, Copenhagen, London, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Lucerne, Baden-Baden, Stuttgart, Cologne, Berlin and Düsseldorf.
U.S. and Canada with Andrea Bocelli
Tour appearances with Andrea Bocelli.
May 16-28
Tour of Japan
Mariss Jansons, conductor. The world's introduction to the PSO with Jansons as music director. Seven concerts in five cities: Sapporo, Nagoya, Himeji, Osaka and Tokyo.
January 29-February 22
International Centennial Tour
Lorin Maazel, conductor. Part of the PSO's 100th anniversary celebration, with debut performances in the Canary Islands and Israel and participation in Jerusalem's 3,000th anniversary celebration.
Casals Festival in Puerto Rico
Lorin Maazel, conductor.
May 16-June 4
Tour of Japan and Korea
Lorin Maazel, conductor. First PSO concert in Korea. Benefit concert in Japan's Kobe Green Arena for victims of the January 1995 earthquake.
August 14-September 10
Tour of International Summer Music Festivals
Lorin Maazel, conductor. 21 concerts in nine countries, including debut performances at Tanglewood and in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.
May 24-June 9
Tour to South America
Lorin Maazel, conductor. The PSO's first South American tour, with concerts in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.
April 25-May 9
Tour to California and Mexico
Lorin Maazel, conductor. Opening concerts of the Chivas Regal Latin American Tour in Mexico City.
August 5-29
European Tour to Major Summer Music Festivals
Lorin Maazel, conductor. Concerts in Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, including Santander, Seville, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Montreux, Stresa, Verona and Torino.
May 18-June 9
European Tour to Major Music Capitals
Lorin Maazel, conductor. Cities included Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Vienna, Stuttgart, Bonn, Brussels, Birmingham and London.
May 14-June 5
Tour of Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan
Lorin Maazel, conductor. Debut in Taiwan. Cities included Tokyo, Omiya, Osaka, Musashino, Hong Kong and Taipei.
October 2-28
Tour of Soviet Union, Poland and Western Europe
Lorin Maazel, conductor. European premieres of Marc Neikrug's Flute Concerto and George Rochberg's Symphony No. 6. Cities included Leningrad, Moscow, Warsaw, Geneva, Paris, Milan, Rome, Amsterdam, Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover and London.
Edinburgh Festival
Lorin Maazel and Michael Tilson Thomas, conductors. The PSO was the first American orchestra designated Resident Orchestra at the Edinburgh Festival.
April 14-May 4
Far East Tour
Lorin Maazel, conductor. Historic visit to Beijing, China: the first U.S. orchestra to visit in the 1980s and only the third ever to do so. Cities included Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Matsudo, Hong Kong and Beijing.
August 14-September 8
European Tour
Lorin Maazel, conductor. Included the Salzburg and Edinburgh festivals, with concerts in Ireland, England, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium and France.
Casals Festival in Puerto Rico
Herbert Blomstedt, conductor.
Hong Kong Festival
André Previn, conductor.
May 23-June 13
European Tour
André Previn, conductor. Cities included Bonn, Linz, Vienna, Zurich, Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Paris, Brussels, Berlin and London.
August 25-31
Mexico City
Eduardo Mata and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductors. Four concerts in Mexico City.
May 21-June 10
European Tour
André Previn, conductor. Cities in Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden and England, including Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin, Bergen, Stockholm and London.
Tour of Japan, Alaska and Oregon
William Steinberg and Donald Johanos, conductors.
August 10-November 1
Tour of Europe and Near East
William Steinberg, conductor. State Department-funded three-month tour of Europe and what was then referred to as the Near East. Cities included Rome, Athens, Beirut, Baalbeck, Tehran, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice, Lodz, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Munich, Milan, Turin, Florence, Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Oporto and Reykjavik.
Tour of Mexico
Fritz Reiner, conductor.