Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Recognized at Grammy Awards (February 2025)

The Grammy for ‘Best Engineered Album, Classical’ went to engineers Mark Donahue and John Newton for their recording of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony and Mason Bates’s Resurrexit, performed by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck (Reference Recordings, 2024). The Grammy Awards took place on February 3, 2025.

CD “Bruckner / Bates” by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Manfred Honeck wins MWI Award of the Year (December 2024))

The CD of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Manfred Honeck with the recordings of Bruckner’s 7th Symphony and Mason Bates’ Resurexit was voted CD of the Year 2024 by Music Web International!

Even without checking the archive of the previous 21 years, it is fairly safe to say that it is a first for these awards that a single recording has been nominated by six reviewers. Therefore, the choice of this year’s MWI Recording of the Year was made rather simple. Quoting our three reviewers (all of whom made it a Recommended recording), Honeck’s Bruckner (and Bates) was described as “truly unmissable”, “as successful on the technical side as it is on the musical side”, “persuasively interpreted and marvellously played” and the “prime recommendation”, says the team of music critics, consisting of 28 members and 70 different labels.

Further information and the reviews can be found at:

musicwebinternational.com

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck on European tour in August and September 2024 (April 2024)

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director Manfred Honeck will begin their European tour on August 22 with a concert at the Salzburg Festival as the only US American orchestra being presented this summer and continues on to Grafenegg, Merano, Hamburg (2x), Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Wiesbaden, and Vienna. Guest soloists on this tour are Yefim Bronfman, María Dueñas and Anne-Sophie Mutter. On its 15th European tour with Manfred Honeck, the orchestra will present works by Mahler, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky and John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine, which the PSO commissioned and premiered in 1986.

“I look for the depth of originality in a piece,” says Manfred Honeck, Music Director. “This tour has at its center Mahler’s First and Fifth symphonies, and I have looked back to the tradition from which they came to inform our interpretation and performance. I seek to combine the sharp and earnest energy of the Pittsburgh Symphony, one of the best in the world, with an original understanding of the music. The result is not a ‘return’ to some old ideal, but a new way forward — a fresh authenticity — which may even register as irreverent, but which is really truer to the music, and honors it. We are extremely fortunate to have as close and regular collaborators the great pianist Yefim Bronfman, the outstanding violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, and rising star violinist María Dueñas. Each is perfect on their instrument—musically wise and truly exciting. They understand deeply the music they are playing, and convey that understanding through the performance. I’m very pleased they’re joining us for this tour, and I look forward to European audiences hearing them together with the Pittsburgh Symphony. I think they may be surprised.”

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, located in the USA, is formerly known as the “Steel City”. It is a city in transition,  with its vibrant culture centered around Andy Warhol Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra has developed its “unique Pittsburgh sound” in the past by working with Otto Klemperer, Fritz Reiner, William Steinberg, André Previn, Lorin Maazel and Mariss Jansons, among others.

“I am hugely looking forward to the European tour with my favorite American orchestra: the PSO,” says Anne-Sophie Mutter. Making music with Manfred Honeck is ever so special to me and I couldn’t be happier to have the glorious Mendelssohn concerto on tour with us. And a surprise encore…”

“The reputation of the orchestra in Europe is incredibly well-regarded, and the invitations to be a part of the world’s premiere venues and festivals is a testament to the caliber and quality of the Orchestra under Music Director Manfred Honeck’s leadership,” says President & CEO Melia Tourangeau. “We are honored to be the only American orchestra at the Salzburg Festival again this year, which is arguably one of the most prestigious festivals in the world. Additionally, being invited to Europe’s capital cities and showcasing the orchestra on the top stages like the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Cologne Philharmonie, and launching the fall season at the Vienna Konzerthaus is an honor and privilege. The reputation of the orchestra with these invitations is a reflection of the city that supports us, and we are proud to represent Pittsburgh on the international stage.”

Please be in touch if you are interested in speaking to Manfred Honeck about his artistic vision and goals for the orchestra also in his role as a longtime music director in the United States or with CEO Melia Tourangeau.

In the run-up of the tour, the PSO will release a new CD with Anton Bruckner’s 7th Symphony and Mason Bates’ Resurrexit on Reference Recordings on July 19 to mark the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner’s birth.

pittsburghsymphony.org

 

All dates of the tour

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Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (February 2024)

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director, Manfred Honeck, will be touring Europe again in 2024, including the concert dates on August 22 in Salzburg with Yefim Bronfman (piano) and on August 25 in Grafenegg with Maria Dueñas (violin). Further dates will follow.


In Pittsburgh, Manfred Honeck will conduct 10 programs this season, including all four world premieres and commissioned works of the season. The world premieres and commissioned works are: Yizkor by Boris Pigovat (already performed in November 2023); a new work by Katherine Balch in February; a new work by Samy Moussa in April; and a double concerto for oboe and horn by Michael Daugherty in June.

The most recent recording by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Schulhoff’s Five Pieces, was listed as one of the best recordings of 2023 by the New York Times, the New Yorker and Gramophone magazine.

Manfred Honeck was a guest on the American music magazine Fanfare Magazine‘s podcast “Fanfare Talks”, this latest episode can be found here.

Find out more about the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck in the video here:

Latest Manfred Honeck & PSO recording “Tchaikovsky & Schulhoff” listed as best recordings of the year 2023 (January 2024)

The most recent recording of the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Schulhoff’s Five Pieces was listed by The New York Times, New Yorker, and Gramophone as one of the best recordings of the year. The CD was released in July 2023 on Reference Recordings.

Find more information on referencerecordings.com and pittsburgsymphony.org

Two ICMA and one Grammy nomination (November 2023)

We are delighted that two of our artists’ CDs have been nominated for international awards this week:

Midori’s recording of the Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Warner Classics) has been nominated for the International Classical Music Award 2024 in the chamber music category.  The latest CD recording by Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Schulhoff: Five Pieces, released on Reference Recordings, has also been nominated for the ICMA in the Symphonic Music category. The finalists will be announced on December 8 and the winners of the ICMA will be announced on January 18, 2024.

In addition, the PSO’s Tchaikovsky / Schulhoff-CD under the direction of Manfred Honeck has been nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Engineered Album, Classical” with sound engineer Mark Donohue of Soundmirror for his work as “engineer and mastering engineer”. The Grammys will be awarded on February 4, 2024 in Los Angeles.

New recording of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck (July 2023)

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Music Director Manfred Honeck and Reference Recordings present a new recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces, newly arranged for large orchestra by Manfred Honeck and Tomáš Ille. 

Schulhoff’s (1894-1942) Five Pieces for String Quartet were written in 1923 and premiered in Salzburg the following year. When Manfred Honeck heard them a few years ago in a concert by the Clarion Quartet from Pittsburgh, he had the idea

“to arrange these five jewels for large orchestra. Upon listening to them again, it was quite clear to me how to orchestrate this effectively for full orchestra and I knew that I wanted this to be the next in our line of new works performed and recorded for the first time.”

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 has accompanied Manfred Honeck since his earliest years as a conductor:

There is hardly another composer whose music has been unjustifiably characterized as overly-sentimental and bombastic than Tchaikovsky in his Fifth Symphony.  Not to deny the sentiment or triumphant fortissimi, but for me, the secret lies in not overplaying these moments. Highlighting or exaggerating them runs the risk of distorting the music into insufferable mawkishness or turning a triumphant march into nothing but hysterical racket.  Perhaps this may be the reason why this great Symphony has, at times, been criticized. But in my point of view, I find Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony to be one of the most profound of its time.

This album was recorded live in June 2022 in the historic Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s PERSIST (April 2023)

Disrupt, PSO’s brand-new music event series, kicks off April 15 with Persist, an evening of Shostakovich and his dramatic Symphony No. 10, combining classical music with interactive pre-concert activities, themed cocktails, visual projections, and backstage glimpses. More information here.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on tour (August 2022)

Until the beginning of September, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Music Director Manfred Honeck are on tour through Europe – at 11 concerts in nine European cities, the musicians will perform works by Mahler, Beethoven, Ligeti, Strauss and Chkovsky, among others. Soloists are violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, cellist Gautier Capucon and pianist Hélène Grimaud.

18. August  Ljubljana, Cankarjev Dom Cultural and Congress Centre
Schulhoff: »Fünf Stücke für Streichquartett« (Fassung für Streichorchester und Schlagzeug)
Ravel: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester G-Dur
Mahler: Sinfonie Nr. 1 D-Dur »Titan«
Hélène Grimaud – Piano

20. August  Grafenegg, Wolkenturm
Schulhoff: »Fünf Stücke für Streichquartett« (Fassung für Streichorchester und Schlagzeug)
Ravel: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester G-Dur
Strauss: Elektra / Suite von Manfred Honeck und Tomáš Ille
Hélène Grimaud – Piano

21. August  Grafenegg, Wolkenturm
Dvořák: Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester h-Moll op. 104
Tschaikowsky: Symphonie Nr. 5 e-Moll op. 64
Gautier Capuçon – Violoncello

24. August  Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie
Ligeti: Lontano
Ravel: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester G-Dur
Mahler: Sinfonie Nr. 1 D-Dur »Titan«
Hélène Grimaud – Piano

25. August  Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie
Schulhoff: Fünf Stücke für Streichquartett
Dvořák: Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester h-Moll op. 104
Strauss: Elektra / Suite von Manfred Honeck und Tomáš Ille

Gautier Capuçon – Violoncello

27. August Düsseldorf, Tonhalle
Schumann: Klavierkonzert a-Moll, op 54
Mahler: Sinfonie Nr. 1 D-Dur »Titan«
Hélène Grimaud – Piano

30.August               Essen, Philharmonie
Ligeti: “Lontano” für großes Orchester
Beethoven: Konzert D-Dur für Violine und Orchester, op. 61
Mahler: Sinfonie Nr. 1 D-Dur “Titan”

Anne-Sophie Mutter – Violine

31. August Salzburg, Großes Festspielhaus             Salzburger Festspiele
Ligeti: Lontano für großes Orchester
Beethoven: Konzert für Violine und Orchester D-Dur op. 61
Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 1 D-Dur
Anne-Sophie Mutter – Violine

1. September  Dresden, Kulturpalast
Schulhoff: »Fünf Stücke für Streichquartett« (Fassung für Streichorchester und Schlagzeug)
Ravel: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester G-Dur
Tschaikowsky: Sinfonie Nr. 5 e-Moll op. 64
Hélène Grimaud – Piano

2. September Wiesbaden, Kurhaus Rheingau Musik Festival
Beethoven: Konzert D-Dur für Violine und Orchester, op. 61
Tschaikowski: Sinfonie Nr. 5 e-Moll op. 64 „Schicksals-Sinfonie“

Anne-Sophie Mutter – Violine

4. September Köln, Philharmonie
Beethoven: Konzert D-Dur für Violine und Orchester, op. 61
Tschaikowsky Sinfonie Nr. 5 e-Moll op. 64

Anne-Sophie Mutter – Violine

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