New season 2019/20 of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra & Manfred Honeck (February 2019)

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director Manfred Honeck have recently revealed their new season 2019/20:

In autumn 2019 they will embark on an 11-concert, 10-city, five-country European Tour.

Further highlights include the performance of the work Fountain of Youth by Pulitzer Price winner Julia Wolfe, a PSO co-commission together with Carnegie Hall and the New World Symphony, which will have its PSO premiere as the opening work of the 19/20 season under the baton of Manfred Honeck. Julia Wolfe is Musical America Composer of the Year 2019. Also the Beethoven anniversary in 2020 will be honoured by the orchestra, among others with a concert version of Fidelio as well as with the Missa Solemnis together with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.

Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan or Latvian violinist Baiba Skride  will make their debuts with the PSO among others. Renowned artists, like Gil Shaham, Hélène Grimaud, Augustin Hadelich and Yefim Bronfman will return to the PSO.

Winner of the prestigious Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance in 2018, the Pittsburgh Symphony and Music Director Manfred Honeck will join forces again with recording weekends in January and June of 2020. Works to be recorded for future release include Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. The latest CD with Beethoven‘s  Symphony No. 3 „Eroica“ and Strauss‘ horn concerto No. 1 is nominated for the Grammy 2019, this time in three categories “Best Orchestral Performance”, “Best Engineered Album, Classical” and “Producer of the Year, Classical”.

Music Director Manfred Honeck about the new season: “This season promises to be a compelling musical journey that will inspire and provoke Pittsburgh and audiences beyond.  At heart, we are all humans and need to share love, laughter, sadness and joy. At the center of this stand-out season is the exceptional artistry of our Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians and the power of great music to stir the soul. We are excited to introduce you to new works and new musical voices, and to discover new ways with signature works and with returning friends. I’m particularly looking forward to exploring the meaning and the stories behind the music of Mozart and Beethoven, two of the most significant and profound musical giants and visionaries.”

Find here further information on the new season of the PSO and Manfred Honeck.

“Let’s talk about…” – new book about PSO and Manfred Honeck (January 2019)

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) has long been in the shadow of the Big Five. Wrong, says music journalist Alain Steffen in his new book “Let’s talk about …”. Alain Steffen tells the story of the orchestra since its beginning in the year 1894 until today and talks among others with former chief conductors Sir André Previn and Mariss Jansons. Manfred Honeck has been Music Director of the orchestra since 2008. Under his baton, the PSO gained international fame. Manfred Honeck leads the musicians to worldwide stages and major festivals.
Interviews with musicians, conductors, composers and soloists, like Hélène Grimaud, Thomas Hampson and Anne-Sophie Mutter will give insights into the way the orchestra works and will illustrate its unique sound language. A tour diary takes the reader to the concert hall and behind the scenes.

The book has been published in German language at Rombach publishing house. Find here further information.