Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announces 2021-2022 season (June 2021)
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announced the 2021-2022 season and will welcome back audiences to Heinz Hall with full orchestra for the first time in 18 months in September 2021 when its new season begins. The 2021-2022 season is also the 50th anniversary of Heinz Hall, the home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s 2021-2022 season will be the 14th under the direction of its Music Director Manfred Honeck and the 126th in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s celebrated history.
“As we return to live performances and people fill the hall, it is my greatest hope that music also fills our hearts, that music heals some of the grief of the last year, and that music be a source of joy for being together again. The sound of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, indeed, is one of great joy—of power and sensitivity, clarity and dynamics, with truly great musicians who play from their hearts. It is thrilling to look ahead to welcoming many friends to the stage, both old and new, and to presenting so many new works and composers to Pittsburgh.,” said Manfred Honeck, Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
The season 2021/22 begins on 24 September 2021, with Manfred Honeck leading the “Opening Celebration Weekend” with pianist Hélène Grimaud on a program of Ravel and Tchaikovsky. Over the following nine concert weekends until summer 2022, Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra present a diverse program:
26, 28 November 2021: “Strauss Family Favorites”
3, 4, 5 December 2021: “Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite”
11, 12, 13 February 2022: “Honeck Conducts The Firebird”
18, 20 February 2022: “William Tell Overture”
25, 26, 27 March 2022: “Rachmaninoff & Bruckner”
1, 2 April 2022: “Scheherazade Plus Marsalis’ Fanfare”
22, 24 April 2022: “Bronfman Plays Rachmaninoff”
10, 11, 12 June 2022: “Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto”
17, 18, 19 June 2022: “Emanuel Ax Plays Mozart”
Soloists of the programs are violinists María Dueñas and James Ehnes, cellist Kian Soltani, Pittsburgh Symphony clarinetists Michael Rusinek and Ron Samuels and bassoonists Nancy Goeres and Philip Pandolfi as well as pianists Yulianna Avdeeva, Leif Ove Andsnes, Yefim Bronfman, Beatrice Rana and Emanuel Ax and soprano Lauren Snouffer and bass-baritone Dashon Burton.
In the upcoming season, Honeck will lead five world premieres and commissions by the Pittsburgh Symphony, including Reza Vali’s “The Girl from Shiraz” from Persian Folk Songs, Michael Daugherty’s Fifteen: Symphony Fantasy on the Art of Andy Warhol, David Ludwig’s Concerto for Two Clarinets and Two Bassoons, Gloria Isabel Ramos Triano’s why?, and Puccini’s (arr. Honeck/Ille) Symphonic Suite from Turandot as well as six Pittsburgh Symphony premieres, including Wynton Marsalis’ Fanfare, a co-commission.
For the first time in Pittsburgh history, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Manfred Honeck, will present all nine Beethoven Symphonies in one week, beginning 26 April 2022. The extraordinary festival will culminate with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh (soloists to be announced at a later date) at Heinz Hall, on 30 April 2022.
Further highlights of the season include a gala concert with renowned violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter at Heinz Hall to benefit the Orchestra’s Learning & Community Education programs (more information here) and the special event “An Evening with Honeck & Mutter & Williams” with Music Director Manfred Honeck, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and composer and conductor John Williams that was initially scheduled as part of the Orchestra’s Beethoven 250th celebrations in the 2019-2020 season.
The season includes 78 concerts and will welcome back conductors Pablo Heras-Casado, Juanjo Mena, Juraj Valčuha and Osmo Vänskä as well as Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar, James Ehnes, violin, and Christian Tetzlaff, violin. In addition, ten renowned pianists will join the orchestra for performances: Hélène Grimaud, Jan Lisiecki, Behzod Abduraimov, Benjamin Grosvenor, Rudolf Buchbinder, Yulianna Avdeeva, Leif Ove Andsnes, Yefim Bronfman, Beatrice Rana and Emanuel Ax. 14 conductors and soloists will be making their debuts with the Pittsburgh Symphony, such as María Dueñas, violin; Kian Soltani, cello and David Afkham, conductor.
Additional Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concerts, such as its series PSO360, are expected to be announced as the season unfolds. Concerts for the 2021-2022 season are planned with full orchestra; concerts in the fall will be performed without intermission.
Please find more information about the upcoming season here.
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HEINZ HALL 50TH ANNIVERSARY: SUMMER 2021 RENOVATIONS
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is embarking on the first of two phases of renovation of Heinz Hall, in advance of its 50th anniversary to be celebrated in the orchestra’s 2021-2022 season. This summer, a capital investment of $3.5 million includes significant painting and restoration of ornate plaster gold leafing and glazing in the Grand Lobby and Grand Tier Foyer, updating and refreshing backstage areas and the Dorothy Porter Simmons Regency Rooms, as well as accessibility projects including the exterior entrances to the Hall. The 2021 renovations are being funded by a combination of private foundation sources.