The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is undertaking its first European tour this month under Manfred Honeck, who became the orchestra’s music director in September 2008. The PSO will perform concerts in Essen and Bonn, Germany, on September 15 and 16, respectively, and two concerts at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland on September 18 and 19. Repertoire will include Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, with soprano Christine Schäfer; Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4; Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8; and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, with soloist Viktoria Mullova. The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance will join the PSO during the tour for the purpose of promoting investment opportunities in the Pittsburgh region, prior to Pittsburgh’s hosting of the G-20 Summit on September 24 and 25. “With the media spotlight on Pittsburgh,” said Pittsburgh Regional Alliance President Dewitt Peart, “the timing is optimal to provide a preview—by joining the PSO on tour in Europe—of what Pittsburgh has to offer, before many of the world’s most influential leaders experience it for themselves.”
Posted September 8, 2009
Headshot of Manfred Honeck courtesy Stuttgart Opera
Photo of Manfred Honeck conducting by Jason Cohn
